T Minus 3 and Counting down!

That's right, only 3 rows left on Hidcote. Well, technically it's only 2 rows and then cast-off but I figure the cast-off row is nothing more than an extra long, complicated row that still has to be knit. Either way, I'm almost there. I figured I had finished knitting all the difficult stuff and then last night I got to row 11 and a nasty little 4 in a box. What the ****! Knitting 3 sts together is tricky enough, there' no way I was going to succeed knitting 4 together all in one maneuver--esp. at the beginning of a row when all the sts want to go flying off the tip of the Turbos anyway. So I just k3tog and then passed the 4th st over the top afterward and it works just great. Now if only there was a magic pill for dealing with all those double YOs . I am so sick of them! I should be finished casting off tomorrow I think. Then I'll just have to wait until the blocking wires I ordered arrive before I can do the "magic" thing (I think blocking lace is magic).

Once Hidcote is finished, then it's time to move to new and different projects. I still have 2 shawls that need edgings finished. I don't have much left on the Fir Cone Shawl so I think I'll push through and finish it. On the other hand, the Shetland Tea Shawl needs almost all of it's edging--a big job which I will probably procrastinate for awhile longer. I need to finish daddy's socks--a pretty high priority thing but last night I suddenly realized I needed to focus on making a thank you gift for Dr. Thomas. I want to make something personal that will be meaningful for this amazing woman who has been my greatest mentor ever. I can't even begin to list all the things this amazing woman has done to bless my life. I have never experienced such unfailing support from anyone (my parents excluded) in my life. So many others I've encountered in my professional experience have had a flip side that was less than wonderful. At the very least they didn't have my best interests at heart, but Sandra has been nothing but encouraging and positive even when I was extremely ill and at my very lowest point. So I'm exploring my options as I don't have a great deal of time to knit something, but I want to be special. Right now I'm thinking about a little shoulder shawl, possibly Swallowtail, out of either silk or cashmere. Or I have a nice selection of laceweight kid mohair/silk yarns in the stash so I may opt for one of them If I choose a different pattern. Decisions, decisions, decisions!