casting on a new lace project

If you like knitting at all, you've got to check out the newest XRX book, Victorian Lace. There's a least a dozen projects I'm dying to make. NOW. This is a wide bordered lace scarf that I'm knitting up in Yarns International's Shetland 2000. This is a naturally processed, undyed 2 ply from the Shetland Islands (obviously). If you look up this area on a map, you'll see how far north it is; it looks like a harsh climate. The yarn comes in a bunch of natural sheep colors, and is "jumper weight", great for lightweight fairisle sweaters, but maybe not necessarily an obvious choice for lace knitting. I like its rustic good looks in contrast with a delicate lace pattern. Here's a link to some photos of nice fairisle:

http://www.yarnsinternational.com/yarns/shetland.htm

I'd love to OWN all these sweaters, but don't have the temperament for actually MAKING them, alas. One of the reasons my "she who must not be named" Scottish designer knitting books are going up for sale on ebay this week. Gorgeous stuff, major projects.

I've been knitting along to Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie books on tape, which are set in Scotland. He's amazingly versatile in his writing, from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, to the utterly hilarious "Sausage Dog" series, narrated by Paul Hecht, to these. Since I can't get tv here in the wilds without paying lots of money for it, NPR and books on tape are my main entertainments. The only thing I really miss is keeping up on "24". Yes, a guilty pleasure.