The Zhivago lace cardi is finished. Here’s a bad pic of it.

I’ll try to get a better one. Once again, DH and I were arguing during the photo process. I’m always saying “Oh, just take the damn picture!” and that’s usually right when he takes it. I think it fits better than it looks in the pic – and I think I might want to get a better pin to use as a closure – the pencil doesn’t quite cut it!
The pattern called for 10 balls of Zhivago, but I only used 8. That’s extremely rare for me, I usually use more than the pattern calls for.
What’s next? Jill sent me some magazines, including the newest Interweave Knits. I love the Evelyn Clark scarf, “Trellis Scarf”, so I whipped out the Cherry Tree Hill Possum Lace that I’ve been playing with, and I think this is exactly what the yarn wants to be.

The pattern isn’t too bad, although the “Seven into Five” clusters can be fiddly. I find knitting lace so soothing. I love the counting, I love seeing the lace pattern emerge. I love the blocking at the end, and watching the heap of yarn become a beautiful lace item.
This is Twink letting us know she’s ready for bed. If we haven’t put her to bed when she’s ready, she flops down right in front of the television, just to remind us that she’s waiting. I love the two little paws just barely sticking out 🙂

Thank you everyone for your comments and emails. If anyone received a thousand or so identical emails from me, I sincerely apologise – gmail has been a pain in the butt all day, and says some emails weren’t sent at all, but apparently they were sent several times!

So, I slaved all weekend, and the tutu is finished. Then I found out today that she doesn’t need it until the 19th. At least it’s done. I’m not going to show you pictures, I’m going to make you all wait until the 19th, and you can see her all done up in it properly! 🙂
In sad news, Fuzzy, the budgie who thought he was human, is no more. We noticed last night that he had a very large swelling, and thought we were mistaken about his sexual identty, and that he (or she) was eggbound.
So we raced him off to the vet first thing this morning, who thought the same as us, but was mystified that for five years we’d thought Fuzzy was a he.
After many tests failed to expel the “egg”, Fuzzy passed away. The vet did a little exploratory surgery, and the “egg” was in fact a large, fast growing tumour, and there was nothing we could have done to change things. (And we weren’t mistaken, Fuzzy was a he).
He was only a budgie, but we’d had him for five years, and the house is suddenly far too quiet 🙁

Edging.

Tutu.

We found out this morning that Em doesn’t need the tutu at the end of the month.
She needs it on the 12th or the 19th. Like, 9 or 16 days.
Everybody cross your fingers for the 19th, please!

The bits for the Zhivago cardi are blocking.

And I’ve started the edging.

The main body of the cardi is worked on 4mm needles, and the lace edging calls for 7mm needles. I tried the 7mm, but the work was just too loose for my liking. I’ve gone down to a 6mm, and it seems a little better, but it’s going to feel like it’s going on forever. I quite like knitting with the Zhivago, although I’m coming across a lot of these little tangles.

This one was easy to undo, but some of them are true knots. I have to tease out the loop, and thread the ball through it. Weird.