A Bit of Lace

I get some desperate vibes off of my stash sometimes. Bags of Cashmerino DK needing a form, loose balls of aran-weight longing to warm someone up, but most especially my skeins of yarns because they know that working with them requires an extra step and some tools that I have not yet invested in. How lovely was it, then, when a co-worker announced that her husband and daughters had bought her a Swift and ball-winder for Christmas? In exchange for a skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn (in Peacock), she happily wound my largest skein of superwash variegated wool (a bargain buy two years ago at the Skep in Yorkshire) which I'd been eyeing as the makings for a birthday gift. It was so large, in fact, that they were compelled to cut it when the first ball got so big that it could no longer turn on the winder. Here's what's left of the second ball...
The project is called "Lacy Top" in Vogue Knitting's 2006 Holiday edition. I thought that the blues and reds in this yarn would suit my friend, Karen, who favours rich, vibrant colours. Now the picture in the magazine is a little bit misleading since the pattern shape doesn't actually have a waist. In fact, the whole thing is really quite bell-shaped, to be honest. I may have to buy a belt for her too, just in case!
I'm foregoing the little bow in front. I think the feather-and-fan collar is ornamental enough and she could always add a broach is she feels it's really necessary.
Here's the main piece sans collar and ruffles just after joining the shoulder seams. I knitted the whole thing in the round from the hem up and then separated at the armholes and finished up the front and back pieces individually. The knitting in the round is probably to blame for the colour pooling just about the lace edge. It kind of reminds me of wood grain around a knot... if the wood was red and blue.
The ruffles are done now as is the collar but the poor thing needs to be reblocked because the collar is curling and only then I can make my attempt at attaching the ruffles! Gah!