The Leila pattern is with the testers!
(sorry about the weird shadow on here, the colors aren't actually different on each half!)
I'm SO HAPPY to say that I finished reknitting the Leila shawlette and have finally sent the pattern off to the testers! For this test (my 3rd one of these!) I used Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, which is definitely thinner than my last 2 Leilas, which were made with Blue Moon STR Mediumweight and Koigu, so this shawl came out a bit smaller than the previous two. I think I must have also been knitting more tightly because I was consentrating on counting and double-checking stuff, as I think the difference in the finished size can't be blamed only on the thinner yarn. Besides the size, I also had TONS of yarn left over, so I definitely think I knit more tightly on this one. Doesn't really matter though, it still looks good!
The picture above is of the pre-blocked shawl, but it's now been blocked and is ready for its final photoshoot. My lovely assistant Arnold was trying to help with the pre-blocking picture, see?
This was the first time he's been nearby while I tried to block something, and he aparently REALLY likes the process. He walked over and sniffed everything, then started licking the wet shawl! It would have been hysterical if it wasn't so annoying, I was really worried that he would swallow one of the pins (he's been known to swallow worse!) so I was really trying to keep him away.
Speaking of the little devil, on Saturday we took him to the Dachshund Meetup which was held at the 72nd stree dog run in Riverside Park. Here's one of my favorite shots from the day:
(Arnold's the one closest to the camera)
So many dogs showed up to the meetup, at one point I think there were 30 hotdogs there! I didn't get many good shots of everyone together, this is one of the better ones to give you an idea of the scale:
I expected Arnold to make friends and socialize more than he did, I think he was tired. He slept the entire way home in his carrier without making a single peep! It was really fun to see all the different dogs, we're definitely going to the next meetup, I hope Arnold will plan more next time!
But back to Leila: With any luck the pattern will be out in the next 2 weeks! I still have to write the full-size instructions, but it should go much more quickly now that I've finished the shawlette size.
Speaking of which, any thoughts about using a pattern that's layed out landscape instead of portrait? I want to show pretty wide charts for the lace and if I lay the pattern out like normal, each box would be pretty small. I'm considering laying the pattern out landscape to allow the charts to be twice as big, what do you guys think? My other idea was to write the words like normal but then rotate the charts 90 degrees so they can be big, but I'm not so sure about asking people to rotate their patterns when switching between the written and charted instructions.
Opinions? I'd really appreciate the feedback!
