Casting on

Houston, we have cast-on! (Sorry, got carried away there.)

Anyway. I went last night to get some bamboo needles, since everyone said either those or the Denise interchangables were what I wanted for lace, and as much as I want the Denise, I didn't have $50 to drop for this particular project. Plus I'm hoping I get them for Christmas. Anyway - I was shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you - to find that my LYS only carried one brand of bamboo circulars in a US 7. So I got the Clovers. And I ordered Stahman's Shawls and Scarves which I probably shouldn't have, but, well, too late now.

But back to the needles - I am way spoiled by the Addi Turbos. Swatching with the bamboo was really, really weird. I'm not crazy about the chopsticky feel of them, although I have gotten used to how light they are. Something about the ridges bugs me. I'm sure I'll get over it. I'm not sure about the points, though - it's like knitting with nubbins. I never thought Addis were particularly pointy, but these - these are crazy dull. I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake here. Need points! (I wonder if they have Hobby Lobby in Austin? Perhaps I could take a trip with my mother-in-law. I should check if they carry Crystal Palace first, I guess.)

And I wish I'd get over that "longer is better" thing. (No snickering, please.) I'm dealing with an annoying, tangly 36" cord, and I would have been JUST FINE had I gotten the 24". What is wrong with me? I'm going to try dunking the cord in hot water, see if that helps.

I thought about modifying the pattern to use seed-stitch borders instead of garter. I'm glad I swatched. The seed stitch in this yarn at this gauge looks awful. And the garter is super soft and cushy. So. Garter it is, then. I'm halfway through the first border - only 68" to go!

Have I mentioned how much I love this yarn? All right, it's kind of mushy (ok, very mushy), and I tend to like a crispier yarn, but, oooooh. It's like knitting a kitten. Or a pussywillow. Or knitting a kitten made out of pussywillows. Something wonderfully tactile, at any rate. It's got a sort of mohairy halo to it, but isn't at all scratchy. Alpaca is my new best friend.

And thumbs up to KnitPicks customer service too. I don't know why they didn't just put the tracking info on my "we shipped it!" confirmation, but they were very nice about it when I called for the info. Order came on time, in good condition, everything present and accounted for. (UPS is absolutely convinced that my house is somewhere it really isn't, so they always "correct" it and I have to track it down and get them to put it back the way it was. So it's good to know when to call them and make a fuss.)

So hopefully I'll finish one lace repeat tonight, and then... tomorrow, the PLANE!