Knitting: Practice Vlad Done, On to the Slinky

The practice run I did on the Vlad scarf was a surprisingly quick knit.  I may have mentioned I didn't like how this particular bamboo yarn I dyed myself had turned out, so after I knitted the Vlad I threw the finished scarf in my dyepot and over-dyed it in a thin layer of cherry red, letting the underneath variations in pinks and purples show through.

The top two photos are before over-dyeing, the bottom is after.  I'm not sure I like the lace blocking wires for anything that should be pinned out with sharp points.  I just couldn't get enough tension on the points to pull them out far enough without other things sliding around.  Using a pin on each point kind of defeats the purpose of using the wires, yes?  We'll see what I do with the "real" one.

Now that the practice Vlad is done, and we don't start the True Blood knit-along until the season starts officially on June 26th, I've moved on to a nice 2x2 ribbed sweater called "Slinky Ribs" from the "Custom Knits" book I got a while ago.  The Stripey Tang I did in my afghan leftovers?   Same book.  I've finished the shoulders and the front keyhole at the neckline, and am finally knitting in the round and working the rib detailing which does a slow shift transition from ribbing into stockinette stitch.  It's cute on the model in the book, lets hope I can pull it off with the same panache despite my smaller bust line.