Coffee and new Lace

Yesterday it rained on and off all day, but was still very warm and I had all the windows open most of the day. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to snow. Crazy Utah springtime, I thought the monkey and I were going to the park today. Maybe we'll go to Toys R Us this afternoon-none of the sunshine but just as much running around.
Last night I dyed my Shetland Tea Shawl swatch with coffee and blocked it out. The pattern looks really good but I'm going to need to experiment with color some more; the coffee didn't dye it very dark. Most definitely due to my technique. Not being a coffee drinker, the only coffee here was a couple of packs of instant from MREs (both my brother and brother in law are in the army and Marc is an Air Force cadet, MREs frequently show up here.) I got the swatch wet with a few tablespoons of water, sprinkled with a few coffee crystals and microwaved for a minute. It left me a light brown and delicious smelling swatch. The swatch measures a little big, but I'm going to assume that is due to the pattern stretch (confirmation from someone who knows better than I?)
Writing this out has lead me to consider all the lace I'm knitting right now. I'm starting this big lace shawl, I'm tatting a lot, my other knitting project is a big doily/small tablecloth. Why all the lace? Why not something practical, like a sweater for the monkey or a pair of socks. Why not at least pick something that takes slightly less concentration so I can knit at the Stitch and Bitch?