Sunday Knitting

The grey tangled mass of lace weight yarn has turned into something beautiful.

Honestly, I had no idea how this would turn out. I'm so glad all that knitting time wasn't wasted. So many hours on the bus! When I wear this, I wonder if anyone on the #80 will recognize it as what they've seen me knitting on the way to and from work every day?

Not all went according to plan however. I followed the hand-felting instructions carefully but the thing would not felt. Why is it so easy to felt something accidentally, yet so difficult to do it on purpose?

Luckily, I really like how it looks. The brooch in the first picture is an owl. I can't even remember where I found it but I've had it for ages and I really love it, though I've never worn it before.

Pattern: Les Miserables
Yarn: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace. The pattern calls for 3 skeins, but I didn't use much of the third one.
Needles: Size 8 (size 9 for the first and last few rows)
Started: May 20
Finished: September 19

I'm glad to see those dates. It felt like it took months, and it makes me feel better to see that it actually did.

The pattern contains no information about gauge or how big it should be before blocking (it was a free pattern) so I sort of felt adrift on this project. Plus, making something that deliberately looks a bit shabby is kind of a risk. It could look awesome, or it could look like something I found in the trash. When I failed at felting I only became more concerned. But after it dried and I draped it around myself, I was pleasantly surprised.

Maybe it's finally time to make a Matrix sweater.