Diagonal Lace and the Market Bag

My current lunchtime project is My first foray into lace. It's a lovely and simple diagonal lace scarf by Helena Frank @ Midnight Purls. I was smart and did a swatch as I've never really done this kind of knitting before. Here are the results--

It is Caron's Simply Soft. It seems to be an odd choice as most knitters go for the natural fibers or at least blends, only using man made fibers sparingly so as to enhance the natural fibers. The two things I really like about the yarn are the hand and the feel after it's blocked. It lives up to the "soft" moniker. The drape of the swatch is so smooth. I used size 8 needles and blocked it with the iron instead of the steamer. Most of stuff I've blocked with the steamer still curl a bit. So, far not a curl with this swatch.

And then there is the market bag I've started. Check here to see my travails with this thing. Well, I've decided to frog the whole thing and start over. I've gone back to the bottom base and started the pattern over again simplifying the non-diagonal parts and the sides. Pics of that progress are coming soon. I don't have anything to show yet.