July, and then some

As promised, I am back with more finished objects!

In preparation for the August class at the shop, I worked up an entrelac scarf:

the design is called "Upstairs and Down" from the newest issue of Knitter's magazine.  My sample was knit from three balls of Noro Chirimen and 5.5mm needles.  Not a big fan of so much ribbing, but because it is entrelac you are only working in rows of 9 stitches.  The worst and hardest thing about this scarf is making certain that you have reached the end of the tier before starting back the other way.  I can't tell you how many times I turned too early!

I also finished up the sample shawl from Sublime Extra Fine Merino Lace, modelled here by my friend Barb. 

I used Lala's Simple Shawl and the wool held double.  I love it, as does Barb.  We might have to venture into the mud wrestling room to determine ownership.  (Perhaps I should enlist my siblings in a training exercise to warm up?).  In any event, this was 3 balls of wool and a 4.5mm needle.  I love it, and a large part of me wishes I had sprung for the fourth ball and made it a bit larger.  As it is, though, it is a perfect summer cover-up.

I also finished up a pair of socks!  these are "Flambeau" designed by Terry Ross.

I used one full ball of SRK On Your Toes Bamboo, but ran short at the cuff.  Being ever thrifty, I simply did the cuff in a contrasting colour--coral.  Both these yarns were in my stash, so it's all good.  I did modify the pattern a wee bit--the short row reel was written in garter stitch, which made me crazy for reasons I will explain further.  So I simply switched to stocking stitch and carried on.  Holy moly--are these comfortable socks!  I just might switch over to short row heels in the future!  Do other folks have a preference for short row vs heel flap heels?  Why?

And the craziness over the garter stitch short row heel, as well as the purple shawl?  I have been procrastinating getting a new prescription for my glasses.  It was the lace-weight shawl that did me in.  Frustrated that I couldn't see clearly, I finally caved.  turns out that my frames were too old (heh, who knew wire frames had a life expectancy?) so I ordered new frames as well.  Behold:

These are executive bifocals, so the reading area is larger than usual.  I also went without the transitioning between the distance and reading portion.  I can see!  the downside is that I also see the line between the two prescriptions and my brain translates that to be the top of my frames.  I find I am regularly tipping my head back, when I don't or shouldn't.  It is a learning experience, but this "old dog" is determined to learn the new trick.