Pattern: Manatee
For: Baylie
Yarn: 31 yds Cascade 220 in Charcoal Gray
Needles: US 5 Knit Picks Options
Etc.: stuffing, 2 7/16" buttons for eyes, black embroidery floss for nostrils
Timeline: started 07.13.2009; finished 07.16.2009

How cute is this? I knit it on smaller needles (for no reason other than the fact that I already had these tips on a cord). The shaping on this pattern was interesting, but I had an issue with the short rows. As written, the pattern didn't call for any wrapping or anything else, so my first attempt resulted in giant holes. I went ahead and redid the short rows with wraps, picking up an extra stitch to close any gaps. I also picked up around 12 stitches for the flippers instead of 8 to avoid getting any holes, decreasing down to 8 in the first row. It is pretty adorable, though, so it was worth changing the short rows.

Pattern: Ishbel
For: me
Yarn: 207 yds Malabrigo Lace in Pearl Ten*
Needles: US 5 Knit Picks Options; US 11 Denises for the bind-off
Timeline: started 07.06.2009; finished 07.12.2009

This is a tiny bit smaller than my first one, but it's the same aside from that. Knit the small stockinette and lace sections on 5s (probably should have gone up to 6s, but decided to be lazy), bound off on 11s, and blocked the shit out of it.

*The yarn is really the only story here. I had purchased two skeins of Malabrigo Lace to make the Whisper Cardigan, but (for a variety of reasons: not liking to knit lace in stockinette on bigger needles, issues with the arm sizing in the pattern, etc.) decided not to. Of course, I had them wound at the store (Once again, I am lazy.), so I needed to figure out what to do with them. Luckily, I have a spinning wheel, so I added some twist to each skein and then plied them together. Considering the fact that Malabrigo Lace is (obviously) laceweight AND a single, it holds up really, really well. I liked working with the finished yarn a lot and the result is soft and lighter than the version I made in Malabrigo Sock. Plus, I think having an Ishbel in a neutral color will come in handy.

Now, I just need to decide which color Ishbel to knit next...