Citron in the Works

I cast on yesterday, and am two rows shy of finishing the first section. I love this pattern! It's simple enough to do on the bus, but the sections of plain and ruching keep it interesting enough to make me want to keep knitting. Perfect.

I was a little iffy on the yarn when I bought it (a single ply lace weight), but the Malabrigo Lace is actually wonderful to work with. The loose structure adds a subtle halo to the work that really softens the stitches. I wouldn't use it for anything that's going to get heavy wear, but it's great and snuggly for a shawl/scarf. In fact, it grew on me so much I ended up getting another ball when I wandered into Lettuce Knit yesterday...

I know I promised some sewing to be done around here, but I've decided the sewing machine tune up can't wait any longer. I'm going to download my manual (again), get a can of compressed air and some oil and have a go at it. Being able to maintain my own machine is definitely a skill I want. Though if it goes badly, I'm not going to hesitate to bringing it into the shop.

 The swimsuit plans are progressing however. I was lucky enough to find the Threads book Fit and Fabric from the local thrift store a couple weeks ago. It has articles on both sewing swimsuits and working with Spandex. Now I just need to source some material and see what I can do with it.