Time: Thursday night.
Mission: Seam lace-trimmed bolero and knit enough edging to put the surrey with the fringe on top to shame. Sew on said edging.
Deadline: Saturday, 3:00 pm.
Progress:
It was a dark and sticky night in New York City, and a daunting task lay before me. The seaming came easily, and I raised a glass of lemon soda to the swingin’ chick who first received the divine inspiration for raglan shaping, because she was a hip, hip lady. But I was beginning to think there was no way I could knit enough lace trim to edge the whole jacket in time to wear it to Adam’s cousin’s wedding in Chicago on Saturday. Worse still, I had to sew on the edging, and I wasn’t willing to do a slap-dash job of it. Nay, better seams are a major goal of mine this fall, and I wanted to kick things off right with this bolero.

Thank goodness for boring airplane rides. Thank goodness for inane airline safety regulations that, although they won’t permit your minuscule sewing scissorini with the half-inch cutting edge, will allow you to wield as many twelve-to-fourteen-inch metal spikes as your heart desires. The lace fairly spumed from the needles (although somewhat less zestily from one Green Aluminum Flea Market Needle and one end of a Denise circular than it had from the two GAFMNs). My tapestry needle was a golden blur, and the edging did not bunch or gape or flop or pucker or distort my pretty little silk jacket into any other undesirable shape. I wove in the ends while visiting with all my new in-laws over breakfast on Saturday. And at the deadline, I looked like this:

The ceremony was lovely, the couple glowing, the reception riotous in the best Polish tradition (actually, it was apparently a little watered down – we drank plenty of vodka and shouted something that sounds like “groshko” (which means something like “the vodka is sour, you must sweeten it with a kiss”) a lot, but to my disappointment we didn’t get to the song that suggests the bride take a cucumber – “ogurek” – in case the groom can’t perform). It was my first Polish wedding experience, and it was a great crowd of people. And they complimented the bolero, so I loved them.

And I’m finally getting around to my public thanks to my lovely and generous Secret Pal of Excellent Taste, Minnie, who gifted me with this bounty several weeks ago:

Mmmm…yummy vanilla-scented products from Bath & Body Works, fluffy midnight-blue Katia mohair and jazzy silver accent glitz from Anny Blatt. Minnie included her favorite pattern for a moebius scarf, which I’ve been terribly curious about. Now I get to try one out – thanks, Minnie! Let’s take a closer look at that mohair, shall we?

Yep. Fabulous. Mingus has pronounced it so.