another new start...

Friday afternoon, AF and I drove down to North Cackalacky to see his sister. With my shawl off the needles, I knew that I would need to find something to occupy my time while in the car. So, I turned to my faithful "1st 6 of '06" only to find that there was only one more project left to start, Crinkle. I know that I still haven't finished Butterfly, but I was in the mood to start something new.

I kind of cheated...I didn't do a swatch. I know it might seem a little cocky for me to say this, but every time I've knit with Rowan yarns and the suggested needle size, I always get gauge. So, I had no reason to think this project would be any different!

chart 6, complete...

Actually, I finished the knitting for my Lotus blossom Shawl early last week, and finished the bobbled cast off last Friday. I just haven't had time to post until now. I would have to say that the cast off was probably the hardest part of this project, since you have to turn the work about 6 times to complete one bobble.

The shawl is how waiting to be blocked. I had hoped to do this last Friday before leaving town for the long weekend, but I just didn't have it in me. Now, I have to for another chance when the bed won't be in use. I don't dare pin it out on the floor...I just know that my cat will either claw at it, or try to chew on the pins.

charts 4 & 5, complete...

Chart 4 is the first of the "lotus blossom" sections. I finished it last Friday morning, but haven't had a chance to post until now. The blossoms are a little more fiddley, with a lot of S1-K2tog-PSS0s. I have lost track a couple times, but the mistakes have been fairly easy to fix.

Chart 5 is a lot like chart 4, so I didn't take an additional picture when I finished it yesterday...Plus, I was much too eager to work on Chart 6, the final chart. It's basically like charts 4 & 5, but it has a small border followed by a bobble-sprinkled cast off. I'm pretty sure I'll have the knitting done this week, but I'm not exactly sure where I will be able to do my blocking.

charts 2 & 3, complete...

Just a quick update to prove that this is still a knitting blog. As of yesterday's evening commute, I have finished the first 3 charts of the Lotus Blossom Shawl. Of course, I jumped right into knitting chart 4, which is where the lotus blossoms begin. And, as further proof, I have pictures.

The shawl after the 1st chart.


The shawl after the 2nd chart.


Close-up of the "stem" pattern.

chart 1, complete...

The first chart of the shawl went by very quickly. In fact, I finished it late Friday afternoon. I snapped a few pictures, but haven't taken the time to upload them.

I have also made a good deal of progress on Chart 2. So far, the lace pattern that makes up the stems is pretty easy to follow. I'm about halfway, and already I'm wondering how long I will be able to take this project on the bus. When I finish this chart, I will have 195 stitches. It's definitely not the largest project that I've taken to work with me, but I don't think I will want to travel with it if it gets too cumbersome. Oh well, I'll see what happens.

So far I really like the yarn. It's very soft and has very little shedding. At the same time there is a bit of a halo.

i just need a little motivation...

It seems that I can't obsess over more than one activity at a time. For the last few years, knitting has had nearly all of my attention. Lately, as I've mentioned, knitting has taken a back seat. Last week, I finished a sock and had no interest in starting the second one. I don't foresee myself wearing wool socks this summer, now matter how many fashion spreads are showing women wearing socks with strappy heels!

So, how does a rollerskating, wedding-obsessed knitter get back into the swing of things? She starts a wedding-related knit project, naturally!

This morning, I had an itch to start something new. I opened up the cabinet to the stash, and staring back at me was the Peruvian Collection Baby Silk that I bought from Elann back in March. I bought it knowing that I would knit a shawl to wear on my wedding day. The shawl of choice is the Lotus Blossom Shawl from Fiddlesticks. I casted on right before leaving the house, and the rows are going by pretty fast, but I'm pretty sure that won't last long. This shawl is worked top-down, starting with 3 stitches and increasing to create a triangle.

I'm also excited because this will put me back on track for my 1st 6 of '06 that has gone neglected. One of the items on that list was to knit a shawl. Originally, I was going to choose from either the Flower Basket Shawl or Ene's Scarf.

Oh well, I hope everyone has a good weekend...Happy Knitting!