How Long Is Too Long?

How long is too long to wait for yarn?

Yesterday, an unprecedented thing happened. I was sitting on the sofa with my laptop (no, that's not unprecedented--it's practically a constant), looking at yarn online (no, that's not it, either), and my husband asked what I was looking at. Silly question. But I answered that I was looking for a good deal on some expensive yarn. And he responded (I swear this is true), "I'll buy it for you." Since my husband considers yarn for me to be the equivalent of heroin for an addict, I was a little surprised. Well, stunned. But not so stunned that I failed to leap on the opportunity, and within seconds, a sweater's worth of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Aslan had been ordered and paid for (I know--if I'd had my wits about me, I'd have gone for cashmere. Give me a break. It was the shock.)

Today, I got a confirmation email from the yarn shop. Everything was in order, payment received, yarn to be shipped in...July?! Excuse me? Three months from now? What, they have to grow the sheep first? I wrote them a (mostly) polite email back, explaining that, while I really love the yarn, and their prices are good, and my husband is actually paying for it, three months is just too long to wait for yarn. Even for me.

So instead, I've been busy working on spring knitting. Sparkly is coming along nicely. I've finished the front and the back and started on the sleeves. There--now you know. It's obviously a top of some sort, right? And since the cat's out of the bag (more or less), here's a teaser:


Isn't this a lovely stitch pattern?

It is incredibly simple; it's just once lace row, alternated with a row of purl stitches. It's not blocked here, though I did pin it to give you an idea of how the eyelet will look. I'm sure it will block out a bit more open. I'm very pleased with this project. It's drapey and lacy and a beautiful color, and I love the design, which is--at least mostly--one from a local yarn shop. I did change the yarn, the gauge, the lace pattern, the length, the neckline, and the sleeves, but for me, those are pretty modest changes. About the only thing I don't like is the yarn I chose. It's Berroco Cotton Twist in Fern, which seems to be three plies of cotton and two plies of rayon, very loosely twisted together. As you might guess, the yarn is completely inelastic, which makes for somewhat uneven stitches. But it also splits like nothing I've ever seen, even on blunt bamboo needles, and the rayon snags on absolutely everything. The finished fabric is quite lovely, but it's so annoying to knit that I probably won't use this yarn again.

And now, a request. I've been told that Blogger has been keeping people from commenting recently, and (separately) that people have been unable to access my recent posts. If you are reading this, will you please try to leave a comment (anything will do) so that I can see whether my posts are making it out and comments are getting through? Thanks for the help!