In Which I Hate Bamboo Needles

So, I finished my Dummy Clap, which I have christened The Herp. It looks better now that the stitches have been dropped, but I haven't blocked it yet. My mom would be like "Lol what are you doing and that it ugly" and I don't feel like explaining to her. On the other hand, she excitedly related something she saw on TV the other day. Apparently, she was watching the View or something and they were talking about knitting. They then started talking about felting and Mom was all "I KNOW WHAT THAT IS." Anyway, back to the scarf, the colors look nicer now that the stitches have been dropped, but it's still slightly sickly looking. No photos, because my camera seems determined to stay lost. If I find it, I'll update with some. I don't know if I'll wear it or not. I still need to figure out what to do with the leftover Abby (over a whole freakin skein ) I have left. I'm thinking maybe a felted something or other.

I have (duh-duhduh-duuuuuuuuh) started a new project. In my current vein of selfish knitting, I am making a wimple/cowl for myself. The pattern is called The Wavy Feathers Wimple, which, let's face it, isn't too catchy. But the pattern itself looks lovely. The designer is Caryll (Carol? Is that you?) McConnell, who seems to be a mostly hat and scarf designer who has her own website but doesn't charge for the patterns. The lace pattern is an old one that Barbara Walker calls Japanese Feathers. It does look rather pretty, doesn't it? A little "in zee old country, we did not haff potatoes" but since I'll only be wearing it that way when it's freezing, I doubt I'll care too much. Already, I'm running into difficulty. It's not the pattern's fault, though, not at all. It recommends size six 16" circs, and I'm using size 7s since that's the only 16 incher I've got. Herein lies the problem: these needles are bamboo. I got them on my first trip to Loop, but really shouldn't have. I wanted to try a different needle material, since I was (and am) a pretty new knitter, so I suppose it was a good idea. Problem is, I knit tight. Tight enough that using bamboo is an annoyance. Plus, the stitches, while fitting around the loop, are sort of strained. So, this is how my knitting is going: knit knit knit knit, stop, tug too-tight stitches up the goddamned sticky bamboo, tug stitches from the cord to the needle because they've been pulled tiny on the cord, knit knit. It's frustrating. What I would give for a 12 inch shiny metal circ right now. It seems like the material du jour these days is bamboo, though. Booo. I might get some Options when I do my grand birthday knitting order from Knitpicks. I have heard good things. Anywho, the yarn I'm using is Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in the Franklin's Panopticon colorway. It's so pretty; reminds me of a lake.