For Christmas, I'd received a couple gift cards to the LYS near my parents' house: Gosh Yarn It! in Kingston, PA. I'd been fairly good with my latest yarn acquisitions by having a project in mind when buying new yarn, and I partially succeeded in sticking to that when I visited the shop in December.

The only project on my mind at that point was Kay F. Jones' Duchess of Devonshire shawl, a paid-for pattern that can be downloaded on Ravelry, so I immediately began looking for yarns that would lend itself well to the gorgeous lace.

Despite the almost endless options available to be, I couldn't resist buying more Cheshire Cat from Frabjous Fibers, part of their Wonderland Yarns collection, this time in the Little Busy Bee colorway. It's a different color than I'd typically choose, and I was mindful of that, as I gravitate toward jewel tones: pinks, purples, teals, you name it. I wanted something different while also knowing I'd love knitting up the yarn. Hence the final result you see above.

Plus, the shop was having a store-wide sale. #winning

The pattern itself is 90% easy potato-chip knitting, and 10% "pay attention to the applied border or you'll be sorry" knitting. In other words, if you're like me and can't work on a project that makes you fall asleep, then this shawl is perfect for you. There's enough to keep your interest while ensuring it's easy enough to complete quickly without lulling you into a coma.

If you haven't checked out Kay's knitting patterns yet (or if you haven't heard of The Bakery Bears Podcast, which she co-hosts with her husband, Dan), then I suggest you crawl out from under your obscure rock and get to watching!

In the meantime, I'm:

Knitting: Constantinople Shawl (are you noticing a project theme, here?)
Reading: Lolita
Watching: Orange is the New Black