I feel strongly both ways

I've been knitting around and around. At one point I thought I just might have enough stitches to switch to a circular, but my only size 1 circular is 24" long and it wasn't happening.

I don't mind dpns at all, but I knit fairly tightly and this cotton isn't sliding along that freely on the wooden needles.

So what is it? A doily. It is the Dahlia pattern from Gloria Penning's lovely booklet "Knitted Heirloom Lace II". Gloria, whose husband said "with enough steel wool you can knit a Volkswagen". I like that spirit.

There are some lovely patterns here. I chose Dahlia because it does not have the crochet loops around the edge. I haven't knitted from this book before because none of the patterns are charted and you know how I love my charts! I was afraid I'd get lost in all the written instructions, but do you know it is working out Just Fine.

Perhaps you are wondering what I want with a doily. I've been wondering that as well. A doily in 2011. Its the journey. The round and round journey. Seeing the leaves form and being amused by double yarnovers.

As I've been knitting around and around, I began to think this might work as the bottom of a round bag. A bag, because, you know I need a reticule every bit as much as I need a doily! It looks rather sweet all gathered up on the dpns and my mind had raced ahead to the top and the cording. Checking the gauge on a spot of plain stockinette, which is what the body of the bag would be, made me realize it would be a rather large bag. Certainly too large to be a dainty reticule.

Oh, well. I think a doily will look nice on the table at Easter.

M&Ms for scale.