Lacevember

So that alpaca circular shawl thing-a-majob that I was going to finish by the end of the World Cup...um, it's still in my bag. I'm carrying it everywhere I go in case every other single bit of knitting or spinning in my bag suddenly finishes itself and I need something to do. I'm coming close to finishing multiple projects, maybe there will even be pictures within a couple days. But that shawl...

The problem is that I didn't finish it and France lost and I kind of ran out of steam. That and I kept dropping stitches with the double points as the circumference is now far larger than the combined distance of the four 8 inch needles I was using, so I switched it onto a circular needle which sucks. Looks like an addi turbo except the join is so rough that my lovely little thread, er yarn, gets caught. I still haven't worked out the kinks in the brass circular knitting needles I was making and while it would be simple and not so expensive to simply buy a different circular needle... In my defense, it's not like 00 or whatever size circular needles I'm using are commonly stocked or anything. Hmm, I wonder what size I'm using.

At any rate, while perusing Evelyn's blog (waiting for my roving to come out of the oven--yes, this counts as a work day--dyed up 3.5 pounds of wool in eight colorways), I came across mention of Lacevember. Lots of inspiring posts already. I just happen to have recently acquired some tussah silk/cashmere roving because it seemed like a shame to go all the way up to Tahoe for the SOAR market without buying anything. And since silk/cashmere is a bit pricey, I only have a little bit, and what better use for a bit of anything than a light and lacy project?

I realized over October that my grasp of reality may be a bit optimistic, so in the interest of realistic expectations in November, I am hereby admitting that (1) I will probably not finish the circular shawl this month (2) I will probably not spin up and finish a project with the silk/cashmere this month (3) I may not even finish the lace scarf I started on a backpacking trip with my first pair of glass knitting needles last year. I am determined, however, that I will finish an as yet unchosen lace project in November, probably an existing pattern, possibly with a commercial yarn if I have any appropriate yarn in my stash.

On to the Lacevember questionaire:

The knitting questions, or the usual suspects
How long have you been knitting?
Since I made a long skinny scarf out of lime green acrylic yarn for my seal when I was in elementary school.
How did you learn to knit?
My grandmother tried to teach me but it didn't go so well as we didn't speak the same language at the time. I then taught myself from the Usborne Guide to Knitting featuring teens with striped anklewarmers and scarves with pockets. I still have it and loan it out to friends learning to knit. I checked and it's still in print, though the new version's cover looks a lot more suave than mine and I wonder what the insides look like. Mine (1986) has brightly colored hand-drawn illustrations.
Favorite thing about knitting?
How long have you been knitting lace?
My first lace project were socks in college so that'd be nine or ten years ago?
Favorite thing about knitting lace.
It's purty.

The yarn questions, or flash your stash
Favorite lace yarn?
my alpaca handspun but I also have a weakness for commercial kid mohair lace yarns or mohair/silk yarns
variegated or solids for shawls?
I generally like solid colors for lace, but maybe I should try making a yarn that slowly changes color...that could be attractive.
Favorite lace color?
I'm kind of traditional, I like white or natural colors (greys, browns, blacks). However, I do love my lacy red long gloves.

Technique, or show us your skillz
Circs or straights?
depends
Favorite lace knitting trick?
hmmm
Lifelines? If so with what?
sounds like a good idea, but haven't gotten around to using them yet.
Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet?
pins

Pattern, or can you follow directions
shawls or lacey items?
mostly lacey item, still stuck on my first shawl
triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls?
see above. maybe freeform "designing" a circular cobweb lace shawl wasn't the best idea for a first shawl design
Charts or printed instructions?
either
Favorite lace you've knit?
I can't play favorites
Favorite lace you want to knit?
One of Herbert Niebling's amazing patterns

Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun
Favorite jelly belly flavor?
it's been a while. coconut sounds good.
Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red.....
haven't thought of him since elementary school. was he a viking?
Coke, classic or with lime?
no soft drinks for me
Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves?
like the live carols but the piped music can get tiresome
What is the definition of irony?
this isn't a fun question
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
depends on how rough your tongue is
Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door?
he's licking too many tootsie roll pops
What is your superhero power?
the ability to curl up in small spaces and fall asleep
If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be?
42
What's for dinner tonight?
Rick made whole wheat biscuits with local flour from Full Belly Farm, pesto pasta with pesto from Deborah's mom's farm, Lundberg rice pasta and Rick's homemade cheese (milk from Full Belly) as well as sauteed beet greens from Full Circle Farm. As part of the local food challenge, all ingredients are local (within 100 mile food shed) except for the pesto which was made on Deborah's mom's farm and the baking powder for the biscuits which almost doesn't count because it's mineralish although we do have local salt from Bodega Bay.
What is clogging my children's bathtub drain?
small marsupials?