The beginning of the Spanish Invasion

And so we arrive to August!
(I still haven't figured out how to flip the pictures on the blog! so sorry)
August clue has beads, multiple increases, and as a new technique feature, some twisted/crossed stitches. I do explain some techniques to make some of them, but lucky me, the new issue of Interweave Knits  has an extensive article in techniques to work them - and soon some how-to videos will be available. I just got my issue yesterday and my queue is full again :(  - check the preview!
So, with extra time to work on it and some unexpected and welcome help, you will have this mastered by the time I come back all married and legal.

6 month pattern is ready too!
and so we are ready to take in some new players for the second half of our KAL. That also means that I will not be sending any missing clues for January to June. July and August clues will remain there for a little longer so new joiners can catch up. The pattern has a whopping 27 pages, and it looks great thanks to layout artist and tech ed Kate Vanover. The last page has all the individual clue pictures from our contest winners, with credits and all, so people can use them for reference. 

And we are invaded by the Spaniards...
All of the sudden, my house seems very full with my sister and parents and their stuff in every nook and cranny. They came bearing large amounts of soccer memorabilia from the recent World Cup win - complete outfits for the boys, shirts, hats and wristlets for everybody else. Talk about a swell of national pride...
My wedding outfit also came, yay! The initial dress they bought and send over the mail got sadly routed to Moscow, then back to Europe, and finally to USA. By the time it arrived, it was clear they had overestimated  my chest size by a fair bit and I was swimming in the top, and it was too late for corrections Bummer. But the "backup outfit" they bought was absolutely smashing and it fitted well. So today we have a lengthy marathon of modelling and matching colors and tops and bottoms, followed by makeup shopping, flower ordering and the like. I was hoping the DH-to be would save my poor father from the femme carnage by taking him somewhere manly, like the golf course, but the sly dog went off to straighten the reservations, which required a long drive to Scottsdale...   
I am over the moon about having my sister here. She is an incredibly fashion-forward person who always inspires me to design. I am really hoping to draw her into helping with some designs. She is also my most enthusiastic knitwear appropriator - and she just took over a somewhat undersized Whisper Cardigan in Lorna Lace's Helen lace that was pooling in the most delightful way. Just too small for me.
Pretty uncharacteristic for me, I spent the last two days grooming to become a real bride. I had a moment of panic at the hairdresser. I had made a point of making an appointment with a girl that did a great job of taming my tresses a couple of months back. Halfway through the color-and-cut two hour torture, I asked her what happened to her bubble-gum pink hair, which was looking a pretty tame caramel color now. "Ah, you are talking about Ashley. Everybody confuses us because of the tattoos!" Argh. I had had one of those Ashley-Amber-Tiffany-Madison name confusions. I had the wrong hairstylist! I crossed my eyes, and she came through with a great job in the end.
We will not talk about the wax job that followed. I had trouble sitting for a while.
Good travel companions

 Skuld Shawl is growing steadily, but working only during the daylight hours. Read Anna Dalvi's great description!It is a really enjoyable knit.

Sylvar is also coming along great! I love the texture of the stitch pattern and I may continue it all the way down to the waist. The yarn is a dream! - Madeline Tosh Merino

And just finishing the second glove on my pair of Talinay Gloves in Malabrigo Sock. It is a color I will probably never wear, so I will probably will send the finished pair on the Etsy store. Which I really have to rebuild when I come back from vacation.
Expect some good progress pictures next time!
I totally slipped off my yarn diet

Not my fault, really.
This is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Geisha - A blend of silk and kid mohair so soft you just want to hug it, pet it, take it home and call it Harry. It was the limited colorway for the 2010 Year of Lace club ( I signed up last year so it does not count as skipping the diet). I did not much care for the pattern that came with it, so I am thinking this shall become a large Cliffrose. By the way, I just added "her" to Patternfish - it is a fun place to buy patterns, as their search engine allows for so much tweaking. But I digress...

Wollmeise Sockenwolle Merino in colorways Kuken and Jeton. Two quick snags in the WM feeding frenzy that I would not have bought in a more calm environment. But I do quite like them. Kuken (the yellow one) actually harmonizes well with Sonne, a "wear your sunglasses when you look at it" color. I am still ruminating what they will become. Maybe nothing, as I already have SOLE (Stash Over Life Expectancy).