WIP Wednesday: Lace Backpack Continues!

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It's WIP Wednesday, and I'm still working away on a lace backpack!

Interestingly, this is one of (correction, my only), set of wooden circulars, (I also have one pair of 4mm wooden straights, but they're buried in a different WIP).  After posting this article about how Needle Material impacts gauge, I wondered why I hadn't noticed it before.  
a cables and lace lace pattern with a background of reverse stocking stitch; worked in variegated blue and grey yarn.  A stitch marker with a blue sea glass charm is looped over the tip of the needles.

But I suspect that the answer is that almost all my needles below 6 mm are metal (there are a few plastics in there, but mostly metal), while almost all my 6mm and above needles are wood! (Again, there are a few plastics in the mix that I don't use as commonly).  So I probably never noticed because I usually only use one material depending on the needle size (I don't commonly use my plastic needles.  They're inherited, and I only keep them around as backups, as I don't really like the feel of them). 

But now that I think about it, this tension is definitely looser then the tension I get on my 4mm  metal DPNS!   

That's not a terrible thing, though.  I'm happy with the tension I'm getting on this fabric. It's got a lovely drape to it, but there's enough stiffness that the bottom (worked double), should be solid.  And the lace, while pretty (at least I think so!), is dense enough that things can't just fall out of the bag. (I wouldn't recommend putting really small things like loose pencils in here though, as I suspect they  could fall through the yarn-overs of the lace).  It won't be quite the design I'd originally envisioned, but I'm actually happy with that (and part of that is that I suspect I won't have enough yarn!) 

Yarn is Tanis Fiber Arts PureWash Fingering, in a one-of-a-kind colourway called "Cloudy"  I was originally worried about it being too variegated for this project, but it looks like that's not a worry!   As this is a hand-dyed skein, I am alternating my skeins each  round (I prefer alternating each round when I'm in the round, so I don't forget to do so!)

Needles are my 4mm *Lykke Interchangable needles, and I think I'm getting used to the shorter tips?  They're still  not my preference, but I've been doing a lot of work on this, and I think I'm getting used the different way I have to grip these needles. I wonder what will  happen when I go back to my regular DPNs or longer tipped-circulars?

Stitch markers are a *Sea Glass Set from *WineMakersSister's Etsy Shop, and they're working up wonderfully. The fact that these are wielded solid means there's no change of them catching on a yarn-over right next to the stitch marker, which suits me wonderfully! 

As for the pattern, "Lace Backpack" is a totally uninspired working title. Patrons can help me name this pattern, so, if you've got a pattern name idea, come join in and give your suggestion!  You'll also get to see my raw draft notes, pattern previews, and lots of other cool stuff!


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