Stripes of Happiness

Stripes seem to have become a theme for me this week. For one, there's my Waiting for Rain, in which the stripes are occurring with increased frequency as I go along, not least because the ball of the lighter gray is starting to get noticeably smaller (yes, I have officially started my worrying that I will run out).

I completed the second short-row lace section the other evening, which means that the number of rows between lace sections is now diminishing dramatically. That's a good thing, because these rows are starting to get seriously long (now upwards of 300 stitches per row)! Each lace section gets a little wider, though they're all the same number of rows, and I really feel like I have a good handle on them now. I'm hoping to spend some serious time on this project this weekend, as I would really like to free up these needles to use for another project.

Earlier in the week I made an impulse purchase. Heaven knows I do not need any more sock yarn, but the events of the weekend had me feeling pretty low. I happened to go over the the Fibernymph Dye Works shop on a whim and spotted this skein:

Immediately I knew I had to have it. It was in the mail by the end of the day and arrived at my doorstep yesterday. I suppose that's one great benefit to living in the same city as one of your favorite dyers!

This skein wasn't the only stash enhancement this week, as luck would have it. Two fiber club shipments showed up this week (you'll see them on Sunday in my weekly spinning post), and this beauty made a surprise appearance as well:

It's even prettier when it's in focus!

This gorgeous skein of madelinetosh tosh lace (now sadly discontinued) in Spectrum was my prize for taking part in the Madelinetosh Lovers Mad May original design contest on Ravelry. My shawl design came in third place.

Tomorrow I get a rare day off by myself; I'm using up my last personal day before I lose it at the end of the month. If the weather cooperates, I'm planning on going for a run in the morning, spending a little time at my wheel, and then spending the afternoon knitting at my LYS. Try not to be too jealous -- I only get to do this once or twice a year!