The Shawl is Finished (Applause)

So, here it is. All finished and ready to go. It turned out so nice that I had a hard time giving it away. My daughter also loved it--I am sure she will see one for herself for her birthday.
I believe I mentioned the specifics in a previous post, but just in case I didn't give all of them: the pattern was from "Vogue Knitting Shawls--on the go!" pgs. 68-69. The designer was Veronica Manno and the name of the pattern is "Vine-stitch Wrap". The entire book has wonderful patterns! I definately recommend this for anyones' collection of patterns. I added a pattern repeat, so there are 7 rows of vines. I also went up a needle size in order to get the gauge correct.

I also made it a few inches longer than the pattern called for. The yarn was KnitPicks Main Line (75% pima cotton, 25%merino wool). A little warm for Summer time (unless you are trying to be comfortable in a doctors office, restaurant, theatre, etc where they think you need to feel like you are in an ice box!), but it will serve its purpose for the special person that is waiting for it in Washington State.

Here is a close-up of the patterning. So simple to make, yet it looks difficult. Not bad for my first lace shawl ever!

I Love Knitting!!

Surgery went well and I am on my way to recovery. In fact I couldn't wait any longer to start that really exciting project I mentioned before. So here it is!!


(Just ignore the ugly mark on my finger, yes my finger is a little swollen and greenish)

Isn't it LOVELY!!! I could barely sleep at night with this yarn sitting on the bookshelf singing sweet seductive songs to me about how lovely and soft it was. And I don't even want to mention what that pattern has been whispering to me as I sat next to it on my desk (I blush at the memory of it).

Anyway, the flaming, colored yarn is a fingering weight that I hand painted two weeks ago and promptly named "Desert Sunset" (appropriate don't you think?). The black is that sinfully delicious "Gloss" (70 % merino 30% silk) from KnitPicks (I love that yarn!!!). And the sweet-talking pattern is one of the only two socks I haven't made, at least once, out of "Socks--A Spin-Off special publication for knitters and spinners" from Interweave Press. That book has special significance and meaning for me because it was my very first sock book and it is what got me addicted to sock making. I don't even know if it is still in print, but if it is pick one up. It still has the best sock patterns ever--well next to any book put out by Nancy Bush (I looooovvvveeee her sock pattern books. Her book "Folk Socks" was purchased the minute I saw it for the first time).

The shawl is almost finished! I have only about 50 more rows and it will be ready to send off.

(It is taller than my son, so the whole thing didn't fit in the picture.) I love this pattern! It is so easy and looks so good. The nurses at the Surgical Center were "ooooing" and "ahhhhing" all over it (yes I was working on it while I waited for surgery to start). When it is all done, and ready to send, I will take one final picture of it wrapped around my daughter--I will probably have it for the next post.

Well, I am off to see if I can do some spinning. I need to get that yarn done still.

Happy Knitting!!

The Trip, The Shawl, The Socks

Well, we had to come back sometime I guess. On the way over to Wyoming we stopped at the Utah Natural History Museum. The only thing that I like almost as much as knitting is rocks, fossils, and Native American culture--especially ancient American culture!
It was a great museum!!! I could have stayed all day of course. Here I am next to a replica of a very cool petroglyph that was in the Native American exhibit area.

Here is the fossilized skull of a Saber-toothed tiger. WOW! I can't imagine what it would be like to find something as amazing as this!! I did the "Wild Happy Dance" when we found an ammonite (a small spiral-shelled animal from the Cretaceous Period) here a few years ago. I might need to go to the hospital to be resuscitated if I found something like this!!!
I want a wall like this in my house! It is covered from ceiling to floor with Green River Formation rock slabs that feature the carbon imprints of bugs and plants that were alive during that time.
The main entrance to the museum has this lovely dinosaur skeleton. I made the kids stand in there for scale.

This is the shawl that I decided upon to make and the yarn for it. The yarn is "Main Line" in Ivory from KnitPicks. The pattern calls for size 9 needles but the guage was off so I went up to a size 10 and it came out perfect. I also added a pattern repeat to make the shawl a little wider.
This is in the motel room. I was having the time of my life!!! The kids were watching cartoons, the husband was at coffee with his dad and I had nothing to do or think about except knitting!!!


I am about half way through the shawl so I didn't finish it over the weekend like I had wanted to but half done isn't so bad. I LOVE the pattern!!! I found it in one of the Vogue Knitting On The Go books titled "Shawls". The pattern is called "Vine-Stitch Wrap". I LOVE IT!!!! I hate when I make something I love this much--I want to keep it for me!! Oh well, my mother-in-law will love it too.

And finally, here are the socks! They are made from KnitPicks Bare Superwash fingering weight yarn (which is sinfully soft!) on size 2 needles. The pattern is called "Monkey". I loved the pattern. It is easy to memorize and the socks worked up so fast!!!!So how was your weekend?

Happy Knitting! (Surgery is Friday :( and I am not excited in fact I think I am getting cold feet...better make a new pair of socks for ME!)

Another Day In the Life of...

I really have nothing exciting to write about today (thank goodness). I really have had quite enough excitement going on with hernia surgery, keeping up with child 1 and child 2 as they seek more and more interesting summer adventures, and getting ready for my surgery next week. I am currently experimenting to see just how much knitting I can get in before my surgery and trying to see if I can come up with some creative way to knit after (while the hand is immobilized). I have knitted 3 pairs of socks (one lace pair, one tiny pair, and one with skull and crossbones on it),

















and started a lace shawl (that I fully intend to have finished this weekend just to see if I can do it). (I will post pictures of the lace socks and shawl when I unload my camera after the trip.)



We are going out of town for the weekend which means LOTS of knitting time--uninterupted--in the car and motel room. I think all knitters should have permanent room service--just think! no laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no nagging significant other complaining that all you are doing is knitting--what a life!!



Well, I really should get going before someone notices that I am not packing, not to mention I have a really exciting project I want to get to before my surgery and that means the shawl has to be done!

Happy Knitting!!