Dragon and a half and more Friday Finds

Now that I'm finally catching on to how the lace pattern works, the Dragon Breath socks are sailing along. This was supposed to be a Malabrigo Knit-along with some of the group, but some people are having trouble getting started and while I've slowed progress down deliberately -- well, I'd like to get these socks done! Especially now that I've "got it" with the pattern. I don't want to lose "it!"

I'm lovin' this Malabrigo sock yarn. Very soft, and the smoky teal/bronze colorway so suits this pattern.

Now, for yarny news from the cyberworld, here are a handful of interesting finds:

• Bogus yarn a threat to the U.S. textile industry? When South American textile mills stopped buying yarn from a U.S. company because they could get "U.S." yarns cheaper from a different company, alarm bells went off. Turns out the cheap "U.S." company is a phoney front for yarn spinning mills in China and Pakistan. Foul!
• Ever thought of knitting a wedding dress? I can't say I had, but the results are gorgeous!
• Petite Purls has its summer patterns up. Lots of cute knits for the young 'uns.
• Have you seen the 3-50 project for keeping locally-owned businesses alive and well? Yet another good excuse to go shopping at your local yarn store!
• Here's an interesting research article on blogger ethics. Some unspoken rules seem to permeate the blogosphere.