This shawl had the longest cast-on I have ever done, 331 stitches, compounded by accidentally casting on an extra fifty stitches. I learned a new stretchy cast on (YouTube link) for this project that I'm going to keep using.

Pattern: Little Leaves (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Miss Babs Yet laceweight
Needles: US7 circular
Duration: 29th June to 19 July 2010
Ravelry project: Sparkly Little Leaves

I modified the border by switching to seed stitch near the end, adding a few extra short rows, and adding some rows after all the edge stitches were worked in. Most of the short rows were done at knitting morning in Borders, on what was apparently "appreciate the knit" day. Two separate women came up and glowed about our projects and wanted to see them all, and one older man walked past with a huge smile, then came back and said "It's great to see the younger generation taking up knitting." He must have some happy memories of knitting.

The shawl needed vicious blocking to bring out the points and lace pattern, and it was too big to fit on the yoga mat. This one required the spare bed in the basement. It's not totally even, but I think this will work.

My cat tried to eat this wool as I was spinning it, which proves it's a merino cross-breed. She's never tried to eat any other fibre but merino. She didn't get any but I'll be watching when I spin up the rest of my Falklands stash.

Fiber: Dyed Falklands wool top from Dunnose Head Farm via Crafty Notions
Construction: 3 ply
Amount: 225 yards, 3 oz
Tool: Majacraft Rose spinning wheel

It's lovely wool to spin, no vegetable matter, no tangles, no felted bits, no neps. This is my first true three ply yarn. I spun it as thin as I could, using the third gear of the whorl on the wheel. Making a three ply yarn felt like it took so much longer than a two ply, and you get less yarn per ounce, but I love the look of Navajo ply handspun and had to try a true three ply. I love the look of THIS handspun and I'm going to have to do three ply again.

The plying was an easy job, all three bobbins lined up in the Majacraft box at my feet, wheel set on the fourth gear of the whorl (one gear faster than it was spun on) and trying not to treadle too fast. I only had one ply break once, which is a record for me, something's geting better. Plied, skeined, tied, washed, and whacked on Wednesday night, dried on Thursday, picture on Friday.

I think this skein is the best I've made yet. The consistency is getting better and the plying is mostly even with only a few over-plied spots.

I wanted to spin genuine Falklands wool because I was miffed at Argentina's claims of ownership over the Falkland Islands, and the utter lack of support from America for Britain's sovereignty. Dunnose Head Farm is on West Falkland, that link takes you to the satellite map. Sadly there are no visible sheep.

This recipe isn't mine, we found it several places on the web. It works, and the result is delicious!

• 1 swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
• 3 tbsp of honey
• 3 tbsp margarine or butter, melted

Heat the oven to 400F. Mix the honey and melted margarine, put the swede cubes into the mix and make sure they are all covered. Put the cubes into a Pyrex dish and put in the oven for 45 minutes. Every ten minutes, take the dish out and turn the cubes. They will turn brown and crispy on the edges when they're done, and soft inside like a cooked potato.

Swede/rutabaga is almost guarenteed to boggle the grocery store checkout people. I have to point out which vegetable it is, or it'll get held up with a "what IS this?" or rung up as a turnip.

Another day, another horribly tangled skein of yarn, this one much worse than the Malabrigo sock. My Jade Sapphire silk/cashmere 2 ply from the Loopy Ewe was the worst tangled mess I've ever encountered. It took about two hours to untangle it by hand. I put it on the swift, wound a little, threaded the ball through the tangles, wound a little more, and untangled again. Rinse and repeat for every turn of the swift for the entire 400yd skein. It was an utter mess from start to finish.

Several people on Ravelry have had tangling problems with this yarn. I emailed the company, and they offered to talk to the supplier about the tangling, and also send me a replacement skein that is already wound. Well done on the customer service Jade Sapphire, but please fix the tangling problem.

After I'd cooled down, I started a knitspot Campanula scarf with it. Used the same stretchy cast-on as the Little Leaves shawl, but didn't go up a needle size. It worked really well. The colour is Mulberry:

The yarn is thicker than standard laceweight, so I went up to US3 needles, breaking out the Blackthorns again. It is so nice to have needles that won't bend or warp, no matter how hard the death grip. It also snaps very easily. I'm a little afraid to work with it, especially on high-stress days. The fabric is very soft and the pattern doesn't require grafting, which makes me happy.

• There should be a phrase for accidentally casting on 381 stitches instead of the 331 you need, and I think it's "absent-minded dork".
• Graduated Redneck 101: bought fireworks & shot beer cans with a .22 handgun. Awesome 4th of July!
• "I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow, two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow." Tom Lehrer, the Hunting Song
• Odd series of license plates in St Louis, keep expecting to see '33AC21' drive past. Half tempted to get it myself for the old lecture room.
• Why don't road traffic maps mention dead skunks so you can plan your route to avoid the stink? I-64 W past Maryville reeks this morning.