Oslo Walk Shawl Home Stretch

Only a few short rows away from casting off! This picture shows the center panel of the shawl, the widest part, the short row makes a lovely crescent shape. This shawl has been a quick knit, and I will miss the buttery yarn and easy pattern when I'm done.

On the cheap knitting front, couple of weeks ago we went to Michael's to buy a frame and there was a huge yarn clearance (you know where this is going). I scored eight balls of Paton's Classic Wool, $2.99 each, all same dye lot. That's enough for a sweater for me. Made my day!

Don't forget to visit Andrea's blog where Fiber Arts Friday party is going, lots of cool people and cool projects there.

Lifeline

I have knitted quite a few lace projects in my knitting life, include big shawls like Irish Diamond Shawl and Muir (do click on the links, the shawls are lovely). Luckily, I never messed up too much to use a lifeline. If you are not familiar with it, lifeline is a contrasting thread that you insert in a row, generally below where you want to rip back, so you don't end up dropping massive number of stitches. It's usually used in lace knitting because all the yarn overs and knit togethers make it very hard to pick up the right number of stitches. Some people insert lifeline at regular intervals, I'm much too lazy/dense/ignorant for that.

So guess what I had to do this week? Lifeline threaded through 369 stitches, rip back five rows, pick up 369 stitches (plus or minus a few), add some yarn overs to make the stitch count right, re-insert all the stitch markers. This is an "after" picture, doesn't look too bad, does it? I have only two or three lace rows left, then short row decreases. Easy :-)

New Project: Oslo Walk Shawl

Pattern: Oslo Walk Shawl by Susanna IC, Interweave Knits Winter 2010

Yarn: The Periwinkle Sheep watercolors sock yarn, 75% merino, 25% nylon

Yardage: 420 yards

Color: Avocado (light green)

Needle: US Size 6

Cast on: May 29, 2010

Notes: I received this yarn from my friend Karin (of Periwinkle Sheep's fame) last year, and it really wanted to become a spring shawl. It took me some time to find the best pattern for it. This pattern has the right combination of delicate lace and short row shaping. It's a small shawl or a large scarf, but not a boring triangle or rectangle. So far I'm loving both the yarn and the pattern!

Be sure to visit Andrea's blog Wisdom Begins in Wonder, home of Fiber Art Friday. There is immense talent in the group, I'm surprise every week at what I see on the blogs!

Parker Cardigan Finale

Project: Parker Cardigan

Pattern: Parker Cardigan by Deborah Newton, IK Spring 2009 
Yarn: Garnstudio Drops Alpaca, sports weight, used 7 skeins
Needles: US Size 4

Previous entries: planning, progress1, progress2, progress3

Cast on: February 5, 2011

Cast off: May 28, 2011

Cost: About $52 including buttons

Notes: I wish the stitch patterns were charted. If you've been following the progress, it took me some time to figure out how the ribs in the top portion were stacked. I had to rip out top half of the back so the ribs look right. Lucky this is a very nice yarn and I really enjoy working with it.

Our Trinket left us this time last year. He was our first born and showed us we were good enough for a human child. We miss him very much.