Charlotte's Web Shawl

I finished the Charlotte's Web Shawl on Wednesday and blocked it that night. I wore it Thursday and received compliments everywhere I went.



Specs:

Name: Charlotte's Web Shaw1
Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM) in 5 assorted colors
Needles: 6 US Addi Lace Needle
Started: 3/22/2010 Finished: 4/7/2010

In spite of the horrible chart I enjoyed knitting this shawl. I had to replace the color I chose for the last section and I love it. I'm considering making one of these in a solid color. I also added a border from my Haapsalu Shawl book. Even though I blocked it well it still curls a little at the bottom but it doesn't bother me.

This can be a quick project if you pick all of the right colors the first time. I would have finished it much earlier if this little faux pas hadn't occurred.

I finally got pictures of my oldest brother Billy wearing his Mars Hat & Scarf. We couldn't set up nice winter looking shot since he'd just got back from Spring Break vacation.




Specs:
Pattern: Mars Hat & Scarf by Veronik Avery available on Twist Collective.
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Stone Washed
Needles: 3 US addi Turbo
For: Billy
Hat Started: November 20, 2009 Finished: Neovember 22, 2009
Scarf Started: December 5, 2009 Finished: December 31, 2009

As I said about the first set I knitted this is an excellent pattern. All three of my brothers love them. They are the perfect manly gift. I have one more set to photograph.

Shawl Fever

My Charlotte's Web Shawl is blocking...


I have Summit on the needles ...


and my Aeolian is in temporary hibernation. It seems that I'm hung up on shawls for the time being. I've made two already this year. I love the look of shawls and they are perfect for my office which is always too cold. When I wear one I find that I don't have to run the heater as much.

I made another visit to my favorite online store Webs. I've had the "Best of Lopi for several years so I finally broke down and bought the Lopi to make the sweaters I marked when I first got the book while it is still on sale. Some of this is backordered so I'm not sure if they will hold it or ship. I had to call them today and replace one of the colors since it had been discontinued. These sweaters are part of my plan to start my cold weather knitting now.

Basketball is over but one of my favorite shows is back on tv. I love the Top Chef series and once again it is the masters. It's been over a month since I watched my regular shows which has resulted in a total disruption of my viewing schedule. I was glued to ESPN or CBS with an occasional foray to the SYFY chanel (hate that name).

I'm trying to organize a dye day for the guild. I sent out a survey yesterday so I'm waiting to see how many responses I get. This will be the first time that I've done something like this so I'm trying to make sure that I cover all of the bases. It won't be anytime soon because everything is covered in green pollen. Because we haven't had any rain it is horrendous. I don't recall it ever being this bad. Hopefully the rain that they are predicting will come through.

Time to go rest the shoulder and neck. It's been acting up again so I have to treat it with a little extra tlc.

Yarn Love

My order of Koigu arrived Thursday. It is gorgeous!!!


I've never had this much Koigu in my possession at one time. Of the colors I purchased two where really suitable for my Charlotte's Web shawl. One had more green and the other is a darker variation of the color I used for the fourth color change. I used the latter and am now debating as to how I shall finish it. This was a stash project until I needed an additional color. With all that Koigu calling for a new home I couldn't help myself!

Margaret Fisher taught Brioche knitting in her workshop "A Sampling of Stitches". I fell in love with the stitches and purchased Nancy Marchant's Knitting Brioche. In addition to containing a wealth of stitch patterns it also contains some beautiful projects.

Webs is having their Anniversary sale. I purchased yarn for two Brioche Knitting patterns and ChicKnits.com Cerisara. I received the announcement of the new Cerisara pattern by e-mail and immediately purchased it. The pattern has a three-quarter and sleeveless version. It is an open front cardigan with lace yoke accent. You can allow it to hang open or close it with a decorative closure. I will make both versions.

I am also working on Nina from the Debbie Bliss Prima Collection. I'm using Cotton Cashmere from the stash. My original goal was to knit a skein a day. At that rate it would have taken me 11 days to complete the actual knitting. Due to the arrival of the extra Koigu I've deviated from that schedule but I plan to pick back up this week when the shawl is finished. Since it is stockinette it will be my main travel project.

I've been giving serious consideration to changing my knitting plan. I typically knit heavier weight garments during the fall/winter and lighter weight garments in the spring/summer. This year I'm planning to knit more heavy garments during the summmer and vice versa. I hoping that this will allow me to get more use out of the seasonal garments. Since it gets so hot down here I'm not sure how this will work out but I'm willing to give it a try.

March Madness is almost over which means a significant portion of my life will get back to normal. I'm going to miss the games but there is a lot that I need to get done. It's time for spring cleaning and planting the vegetables. The latter may have to wait until more of our yellow-green storm (pollen) calms down.

Taking a note from some other Ravelers and bloggers I have started creating project bags. I'm sure this will help in the stash management. Since a lot of my yarn is in sweater size amounts I've started looking for patterns that will match the yarn and recording the info. The plan is that this will aid me in deciding what to make since I will know in advance what pattern to use. The jury will be out on this for a while so I'll have to see how it goes. In the meantime I'm going to work on finishing current projects and wips.

If you haven't already checked out the new Knitty. The Summit. This is a genius pattern. I have already ordered and received the yarn and cast on this pattern. I opted for the exact yarn used in the pattern Tess' Designer Yarns Raw Silk. At first I thought I wouldn't like it. The colors didn't appear to be what I wanted but once I started knitting I see that it is perfect.


It is truly great to live in an era of such inspired knitting.