What a fabulous swap!

I don’t do swaps often. I just know myself-- I am bad at getting things to post office--(and bad at getting things packaged, labeled, and ready to go to the post office.)--making me, in general, a bad (or potentially bad) swap partner.

But last week, I received a request from Pam Mackenzie (on Ravelry) for a swap—and the stars were perfectly aligned.
I had an envelope handy, and I knew exactly where the yarn she wanted was… And she has an allergy to wool, so the odd were stacked. I traded Lion Brand Wool Ease (25% wool) for some 100% wool. A trade that seems unfair-- (and all to my advantage!)--but since she proposed it, one to her liking!

And look what I got in exchange for my 16 oz of mostly acrylic… 3 big fat cakes of lovely wool—12 oz in all--wool that will become a short sleeved shrug—I think!(Oh, yeah and a bonus skein of Paton's Classic Merino wool!)

It's  a color I love, that is close enough in color to be a go with my fingerless gloves, and with the (still unknit) zephyr lace cowl—I can have a little keep warm ensemble.
A shrug, (for shoulders, with wooly warmth), some fingerless gloves for wrists, a soft lacy cowl for head and neck.

All co-coordinating!  Ok so I still have to knit it up, (and I have a yard long list of things to knit.. but...)

Meanwhile
The February Lady Sweater has 11 full repeats of the gull lace.. (and likely another 3 full repeats before I finish the skein, and start the left sleeve)

I’ll take a photo at some point. But for now, I am just cranking out rows.
The sleeve has 14 repeats of the lace, (and ends just past my elbow) so 11 repeats aren’t even enough to come to my waist--  there are still lots of rows to knit.

My socks? Heels turned, gusset complete. Off we go on the race to the toe!

The heel flap is a bit of fair isle instead of heel stitch. (and I have forgotten all the table commands of HTML--so no chart today!)

The lace has two parts;
1-- The Lace Cast On:
Which is just another variation of the Tail cast on;--but requirs a tail at least 2 times longer than you normal would normally expect.
Make first stitch (slip knot or simple loop)
*Cast on 2.
Then take first cast on (not slip knot or simple loop) and pull it over the second cast on stitch (a simple bind off) snug up yarn.--Yes, this is a cast on that breaks the rule-you want to snug up the stitch, not leave it loose!
Repeat from *casting on 2 stitches, binding off one, and snugging up.

(You will cast on 2 times more stitches than you end up with—which is why you need a double long tail)

This was followed by 2 rounds of work, 1 round of knits, 1 round of purls.
2--Then by Button Hole Lace: (my own, (un)original design!)

R1: K1 (in the round, slip 1) * make a double YO, K2tog ( end the round with a double YO, K2tog, last stitch and slipped stitch.)
The first Double YO becomes 1st stitch in round.
(worked flat, end row with a K1)

R2: Knit all stitches, (let the double YO drop, and Knit 1 stitch in the Double YO).
The work will look sloppy and un attractive at the end of this R!

R3: In the first stitch *(a DYO stitch) Knit into YO—not the stitch on the needle let the stitch on the needle drop off. K1, Repeat from *

R4: Purl all stitches.

R1 to R3 create YO (holes) that are 2 rows/rounds tall.

A single instance of this pattern (1 double yarn over, 1 K2tog) is the classic 3 row button hole—which is why I call this Buttonhole Lace.

I’ve never seen the 3 row buttonhole uses as the basis for a lace pattern—so, it’s a new stitch pattern in a way—an (un) original design.