Sometimes I'm Selfish

Like when I stumble  onto a Lawre's Laine trunk show in October and can't resist placing an order. And neither would you if you saw this gorgeous fabric and darling shape. This is her Bitty Bag and its intended purpose is medium project bag - but it's such a good shape and size that it could also be an elegant purse. I didn't take a photo of the inside  but it's blue and white stripped ticking, stitched all the way around into pockets.

I opened the package and pulled out the bag, but I will wrap it up again as a present for me beneath the Christmas tree. From Santa. Yes.

 I finished those fingerless mitts (I'll post photographs  after Christmas) and though I have More Christmas Knitting to do, I couldn't resist spending a little time on the smocking of my Soho Dress. Oh la - the more I work on this dress, the more I lovelovelove it. I'll knit about 6 inches of smocking and then try the dress on. I'm very short waisted - a sort of marshmallow tied in the middle shape - so the midriff detailing must be custom tailored. Happily, that's one of the features of top-down knitting.

The smocking stitch is a bit tedious. Well. Really it's very tedious but there are only a few rows of it to do. I'm slowly getting into a sort of rhythm with it and probably, by the time I've knit all I need, I'll have learned how to do it smoothly. It really is pretty on the inside too, though, this much stockinette stitch really shows off my uneven knitting. I know a good wet blocking will help but I wouldn't lay my  purl stitches open for viewing to anybody - not even my best friends. Not even  my nearly blind BD. But I do plan to knit this dress again, as a summer weight sleeveless dress and I think I'll do the smocking inside out on that one ... just to be different. 

So. Cold hath arrived. Christmas is nigh. Work is calling me. Happy Tuesday to you all.