One of the best things about my new house is that the back deck is perfect for knitting photography.

Why hello...

Black yarn, fairly fine gauge, lacey detail: photography nightmare? No sweat. Even my little camera can…sorry? Oh, this? Yes, it’s a new project. You’re right, I haven’t mentioned anything yarn-related since I posted the FO report on Coachella. Took me a while to settle on what to make next.

Shortly before I finished Coachella, if you recall — I’ll wait, you have a think — got it? — I finished the Agave tank. Which is awesome and I completely love it. Absolutely smitten. But the first day I wore it, it went from saucy scoopy neckline to Julia-Roberts-as-Erin-Brockovitch, bra-cups-as-design-feature neckline in a few hours as the bamboo relaxed. I thought maybe I could get away with just wearing a wrap or a cardigan or something every time I wore it, but I’ve learned this much about myself: that ain’t gonna happen. What will actually happen is: every time I wear it, I will forget to pack a wrap/shrug/cardigan and spend the whole day cursing my top and readjusting it indiscreetly.  Eventually I would avoid wearing it, except occasionally out of obligation, and the whole thing would spiral into a dark, heaving, dry-sobbing cycle of bleakness.  Don’t really want that. So I grabbed my needles and I fixed it. I unravelled two or three inches from each strap and resewed them. Too short. I unpicked my sturdy weaving-in and reknitted an extra inch on both. Perfect. It’s been through the wash twice since that step and survived — nay, thrived!

The moral of this story is this: pull your finger out, you lazy bint, and you’ll end up with something awesome. It’s a principle I’m applying in the growth of my new black top, the Lacey Tunic. My gauge is much finer than the pattern’s, so I cast on a size large (hand-wavey maths) and the sizing looks about right to me (hand-wavey fitting).

Now that I look at it, this lace looks familiar...

Hmm, that lace pattern is actually a little Agave in nature — I’m clearly developing some sort of knitting/cactus association.

This is a great pattern so far: predictable enough to work on while talking or whatever, but not boring. I’ve just finished the a-line lacey bottom half, and the seed stitch waistline. I’m having a hoot knitting it, and assuming my hand-wavey maths works, the fit will make me look like a zillion spanks. Love it.