Lace

Mexican Lace insert.  See the Aztec Eagles?

 Maybe I should catch up from March, because certainly a lot has happened since then, but I feel the same way about that as I do about my current crafting:  It's too hot.  All I want to do is lace.  I want to knit it, think about it, Google it, talk about it.
  If I'd taken the time to blog in June, I'd have posted photos of all the sewing I've done, mostly for my vacation wardrobe.  But vacation starts on Friday--Yippeeeee!!!--and that's all done.
  All I want to do is lace.  

not my favorite...

 I started knitting lace about 8-9 years ago, when I decided it'd be fun to make lace-trimmed pillow cases for my loved ones.  Maybe I blogged about it before?  If not here, perhaps on Loomy Tunes?  But that was my first, and I loved it, but it seemed rather...slow.  And I don't typically go for handicrafts that are purely decorative.  I like stuff that does stuff!  Clothes me, feeds me, keeps me warm.  
  A couple of months ago, I finished Matt's cabled sweater, just in time to send it to him for his birthday, and my mother said she wanted a sweater, but it had to be Fair Isle.  So I obsessed about Fair Isle for a while, bought books, made false starts, and finally settled on making one for me first to see if I could do it. 
  Well, that's just too hot to hold in my hands, and boy!  Does it take every cell of concentration my brain can give!  I ain't got time for that!  And I can't remember exactly what happened, maybe I just moved a pile of knitting and the lace knitting bag appeared and I thought, hmmm, I'll do that for a minute...  

Altered leaf border

 That was a month ago, and I haven't been able to do anything else.  I finished a several-years-old piece of pink lace and gave it to a friend for her granddaughter's next dress.  I finished the unbleached linen lace to trim a blouse I haven't cut out yet, but know the lace will be perfect for.  And then, I just started working my way through Barbara Abbey's book, Knitting Lace.  It's an amazingly thorough book, full of gorgeous, and some weird, designs of knitted lace.  

New today

  I've gotten to the point where I can change the patterns a little to make them nicer for me and my purposes, but I haven't gotten to the point yet that I can design my own lace.  I'd sure like to learn that!  In the meantime, I'll just keep knitting tiny, frivolous, lovely lace and keep as cool as I can.