This is my first time: working with lace weight yarn, making a lace pattern, working with beads, making nupps, AND my first time making a shawl!!!

This pattern was inspired by the desert, drifting snow and blossoms, all of which remind me of my favorite vacation- Blue Lake Ranch down near Durango. My husband and I treated ourselves to a 4-day stay in January. We were alone as it was their off season, and we were upgraded from a basic room to the Oak Casita- just beautiful. The colorway was a no-brainer…I fell in love with this yarn and then saw it shared my name! It reminds me of winter, clouds, and the rocks which were around us. I used about 1300 beads in sea foam, aqua and silver to reflect the blue sky and lakes.

7/15?: no idea what the date is for certain…I’m so exhausted that I feel delirious. I decided to forgo dinner, cleaning…everything, and finish tonight! I began when baby fell asleep at 6:30. The last row took about 3 hours and the bind off (including a half hour of untangling a giant mess created by my first attempt at holding yarn double from the inside and outside of my ball) took me 4. Hours. I may go blind-we’ll see in the morning. Heh heh. Get it? “See?” Get it?
…Goodnight.

7/11: started the main edge chart and I have 45 grams left- hooray! Well on my way!

7/7: just started the edge charts and I’ve got exactly 65 grams left…so I’ve used about 303 yards. Only half there, so we’ll see if I have to add a bit of creativity to the end.

Decided to do 6 yucca and an extra agave chart to increase yardage. I did 9-stitch nupps because, at this point, hey, what the heck!!!!

This will also be my first project of over 70 I’ve knitted so far that’s just for me.

I must gush over how much I love this yarn. Maybe it’s because I’ve used so much cheap-0 yarn as a newbie, but this stuff leads me to complete distraction. I stop constantly to rub my face on it even though the beads aren’t that cozy, haha. This may not be a good thing since time is of the essence. I feel like I’m tempting fate the longer I work on such a fragile project with my toddler around!

I worked at this project every night after baby went to bed and every morning before he woke up. I don’t think I’ll attempt another lace pattern until he’s older…at least not one with beads or nupps! The chart was wonderfully clear and easy to follow but my lifestyle isn’t conducive to anything that needs so much focus… well, other than my son!

Camp Loopy project #2. :D

Photos of sign and room from BlueLakeRanch.com