Got all the house-cleaning and most of the yardwork done yesterday.

I also finished the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf:




And here is the first pattern in the Song of Hiawatha shawl. It represents the starlight in the line "Very pleasant is the firelight/but I like the starlight better"



Lace is just fun to do. There's the pleasure of seeing the pattern develop and the satisfaction of figuring out how the chart translates and how the decreases and yarn overs line up to make the picture. And for me, I'd rather know I need to do 26 rows (or whatever) of a pattern than be told "knit until piece measures 5"."

The yarn in this kit is also pleasant to work with. It's a laceweight, but heavier than the kid mohair that I made the Kilimanjaro Kat shawl out of. Also, it's very rustic-spun wool, so it has a nice texture to it and it's less "slippy" and more "grabby" on the needle. (One of the frustrating things about lace is if you have a slippy yarn on a metal needle, there's a real risk of stitches - especially the yarn overs on the return row - dropping off and getting lost.)