Beads! Beads! More Beads! Cake!

I can't believe I FINALLY got the whole 1750 yards of Laci wound into a cake! And without the help of the Jumbo winder, since I had returned it and hadn't gotten around to borrowing it again! Nartian was right-go S L O W... And here it is!


I think alot of the driving force in finally getting this wound is that my beads arrived!

Above, Laci is shown with the three bead choices (left to right): Colonial Gray-lined Crystal, Orchid-lined Crystal, Gilt-lined Peach. Off the bat, I think a NO on the peach. The Silver-lined Rosaline is in the background and I think would be a lovely choice, except they didn't offer it in the 6/0 size. The ones in the background are supposed to be for the MS4 KAL and are size 8/0.

So now I REALLY have to swatch!

Choices, and the possibility of a lone lace KAL!

I swatched the "The Knittery" Merino Lace Moonlight colorway for the Mystery Stole 4 KAL. Rather, I started to swatch. Here is how it looks thusfar, after 1 1/2 pattern repeats:



I'm thinking it is too variegated for this project! I will continue the rest of the repeats for the swatch, then block it for a final verdict.

In the meantime, I've been pondering what to do:

1) Not do the MS4 right away, thus postponing the yarn purchase (cost-$0.00)
2) Buy a second skein of this lace yarn I pulled from my stash (cost-~$15.00)
3) Buy enough lace yarn for this project from The Loopy Ewe with my $25 gift certificate (cost-~$50 less the $25 certificate+shipping=~$30)
4) Same as idea 3, only purchasing at Article Pract with a $30 gift certificate (cost ~$20.)
5) Shop for some cool new lace yarn (like perhaps 4 skeins of this?!) from somewhere (cost-$45-50)
6) Buy some BARE from Knitpicks and dye it myself (cost-$15 w/shipping)
7) Buy some undyed lace yarn at Dharma Trading Co. (cost-not sure, but I think they have some around $30; add gas and bridge toll of $5!)

As you can see, only option 1 is a zero cost proposition. Option 2 won't be more than $15 (I think they run $12 but the price could have gone up...). BUT...this assumes they have said yarn. And another thing to consider-no shipping and I could probably postpone the purchase until next month. And then, there is the risk that the dye lots may not be the same even if they DO have said yarn...Options 3 & 4 also assume that the said stores actually HAVE a lace yarn that will meet my requirements (light, non-variegated). Options 6 & 7 will take extra time to dye, but I know I can make a solid/semi-solid yarn that should work.

So my more practical, disciplined, knitting pal says, 'DON'T DO IT!!! DON'T BUY MORE YARN!!!'' (Yeah, definitely not of the same Knitter Species as many others of us are!) What can I say? She is much more practical-minded with her purchasing and she's not what I consider 'frugal'; just not the compulsive/emotional yarn purchaser I am...

So for now, I will endeavor to finish the MS4 swatch, then I'll post it and poll the rest of you for your input!!! As always, feel free to comment at any time-no need to wait for the big Swatch Post!