Ready for blocking

In the past few weeks, I've spent most of my spare time working on a Craftsy class, Alder Shawl. I was hoping to expand my understanding of chart reading and learn some new skills. The only thing new I learned was the Knit Two Together Through the Back Loops Bind Off, which I really enjoyed.

This is my first half circle shawl. The design is wonderful, but I am not a fan of DK weight yarn. I prefer working with fingering or lace weight. 

It's easy to see that this shawl needs to be blocked, which I will do after the weekend. My sister is coming to visit, and I use the bed that she will be using for blocking my shawls. Since this yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend, I think it will take a couple of days to dry. It will be nice and cozy on cold winter days!

To post or not to post

I have been very busy knitting and crocheting since daughter Carol's wedding, and posting to my blog has really not been a priority. I haven't been in the mood to post bits of progress, so I keep asking myself if I have anything worthy of posting. Finally, the answer is yes!

My Hitchhiker shawl is finally finished! I'm short one pattern repeat, because I didn't pay attention to the yardage requirement. However, I don't think very many people will come up to me and ask to count the number of teeth in the finished piece. 

This is knit with Malabrigo and is fantastically soft!

I finished another Kria shawl for Mean Green Goes Pink night. I was doing a little online shopping, and through a little back and forth conversation about Wollmeisse yarn with an Etsy seller a discussion was started about knitting and crocheting for charity. The shop owner sent me a sample of Peruvian highland wool, the vibrant pink yo see in the picture. I finished it off with Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks.

A couple of weeks ago, Mom and I went yarn shopping at our favorite shop, Yarn Hollow. Jamie, the owner, had posted a picture of the Moreton Street Cowl, and I wanted to see it in person. This is knit in hand-dyed fingering weight yarn (Cherry Blossom) and Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It is absolutely luxurious!

There was a lady shopping for yarn while we were there, and she asked Jamie how long it would take to knit this cowl. Jamie said she wasn't sure, because she had stopped working on it to finish a top she wanted to wear on a vacation to Scotland. She guessed two weeks. With that in mind, I headed home and started right away. I started winding my hand-dyed yarn into a ball on Friday evening. Two weeks later, I finished my cowl at 10:30 in the morning. Jamie had it right... two weeks!

I really enjoyed knitting this cowl, but I'm not overly fond of the point. I think I may look and see if I can find a pattern that is more rounded, or I may try to figure it out on my own!