sitting in church...

Li'l Mikey and I got on just fine - yes, I named the tool Mikey... He's cool, listens real well, doesn't talk back and feels good in my hand! I live alone, what can I say?
I did half the front band first because I knew where I was going with that and it went so well, I jumped right into doing the back without too much thought - this is only a prototype so who cares if there's a boo-boo or two - it'll give the knitter behind me in church something to think about - like that's gonna happen! LOL!
I started off with a 24-st version of feather and fan - that was good and fun - I could have done the whole back like that but I was itching to try different things. The next one was another 24-st repeat where I centred the 'fans' going outward from the same point as the one below...I knew I was going to be doing some decreasing at the sides and wanted those side seams to look good and have a finished pattern so my decreases are actually  about 7 sts in from the edges. I put some faggoted lace between to take up the slack. The third pattern is my very favourite 'leaf' design (a 12-st repeat), where you are actually filling in the holes as the top of the leaf swings back in. I followed it with 'battenburg', another very favourite 12-st repeat. I like the way the mix of patterns alternate between hole-y and not so hole-y (tieing in with the church theme ;-)!) and even holier but you still see the vertical lines.
The sleeves are a little snug - I forgot and used my standard gauge shape without thinking that the mid gauge is a thicker fabric, so I'll have to redraft and reknit those...no big deal, they are mostly stockinette and I have plenty of yarn left!
This was supposed to be my mid gauge version of the RTR cardi, but I'm renaming it the 'church cardi'!

I'm pretty excited...

I finally got around to placing an order for a real mid gauge 7-prong adjustable tool and it's arrived! I'm so happy I could just knit!
Let me explain...a few years ago, I was at a machine knitting seminar and a dealer there had a 'mid gauge' adjustable tool. I asked her if it would work on my LK150 which is a 6.5mm gauge - the distance between the needles. She assured me it would and I happily parted with cash, anticipating new, easier stitch patterns on my LK150 once I returned home. It didn't take long to realize that it was actually a 7mm tool - I was sorely disappointed. That half mm doesn't seem like much but when you try to hang it on all 7 needles or every other needle, you can wiggle it and get it to finally fit but it takes so long it's just not worth it!
You might remember last fall, I was bragging about doing a mid gauge version of the RTR cardi ('rash promises' Oct 28/16)...I did the sleeves and the front/side panels and then kinda lost steam when it came to the more labour intensive transfers for the back panel and the front shawl edges (I was transferring 7 stitches and having to use the 3 prong tool twice and then 1 for each operation) and the project had technically become a UFO (unfinished object).
I recently found out that Mike Becker at dknits.com has a bona fide 6.5mm tool - I placed my order with my fingers crossed. YES!! it is 6.5 mm!! It works perfectly! Thanks Mike, you're wonderful! He has lots of other goodies too - make sure and order a new foam strip while you're at it! 
That UFO is back on my to-do list!
If you know anyone who needs a 7mm...I've marked them so I know the difference!
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you - I'm going to Dallas! The DFW machine knitters guild has invited me to do a two day seminar October 15 and 16, 2016. Hope to see you there!