Thursday, March 20, 2008

Thank Goodness for 6 p.m. Sunshine!

When I stopped working at 6:00 tonight, I realized the sun was shining and I could finally take photos of some knitting.

I have two FOs to show you.

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First is my brand new house shawl. It's just a basic triangle shawl, knit in Noro Blossom, which was my first ever Noro purchase, at Stitches East 06 in Baltimore. I liked the yarn in the skein better than knit up. The color repeats were a bit short for a striped triangle shawl. But when I look at this picture, I think the stripes look OK afterall. Funny how I notice it in the photo more than in person. Must be because I am too busy wearing it! I started the shawl in August I think. I was getting ready for Stitches 07 and I wanted to use up most of the yarn I bought the year before. I had three options: the Noro, some laceweight or sock yarn. I decided that the Noro shawl would knit up the fastest and be the cosiest for the winter. And it did knit up fast. I probably would have finished in Sept. if I had just gotten off my ass right away and ordered longer cables for my Knit Picks Options. Halfway through the shawl, I decided it would be easier if I had a longer cable. And it was! But I didn't actually ORDER the cable until Dec., when I wasn't knitting.

But, when I started feeling like knitting again last month, I picked this up and it practically finished itself. True, it's been warming up here, but it is still chilly in the mornings and evening and this is great to throw over my shoulders when I feel the chill. (It is especially good at keeping my boobs warm, important now b/c they still hurt like hell if I get too cold! Thanks pregnancy.)

The second FO is this scarf for my father-in-law in Brooks Farm Riata, purchased at Stitches East 07. It was meant to be a Christmas present and it only had about 30 rows to go but I really couldn't touch it after mid Nov. So, now I've got a Christmas present all ready for next year! Jealous?

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Oh, you see some ends that need weaving do you? Yeah, yeah, I haven't woven in the ends of either project yet. Or blocked for that matter. I don't think I'll block the shawl. Doesn't seem to need it. I'll probably lightly block the scarf to straighten out the edges. And yes, I will weave in those ends. I'm just waiting until I have one more project done and then I'll weave. It will be like an ends-weaving-in party. You want to come, I can tell.

This last item is an almost FO. Or the FO that just keeps going. It's the Easy Flame Lace Scarf by Wendy Bernard of Knit N Tonic. The yarn is Malabrigo lace weight. (my favorite new yarn!) This was also meant to be a Christmas present, for my step-mother-in-law. See, they were going to get his and hers scarves! I started this in Aug. or Sept. and was making great progress. Oh well. I can either save it for next Christmas, or give it to her in April for her birthday. But is April too springy for a scarf?

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See this tiny ball of yarn? That's all that's left. I just have to knit til the end of this and I'll be done! But it is the never-ending ball.

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Thanks to all the nice comments on my last post about being pregnant! I'm doing really good. He's moving around a lot, which is fun and sometimes distracting (like at 4 a.m.). As soon as I finish the red scarf, I am going to start something baby!