WIP Wednesday

    The Irish Diamond Shawl is coming along pretty well. There are 600+ stitches per row now so it's a slow go but I'm still enjoying it & will hate to see it end. The first lace pattern is totally mindless. Once you're in the groove you don't even need the pattern except as a brief reminder. You can easily read your knitting to tell which row you're on so you don't even need a row counter. LOVE. IT. I don't have a more recent picture but I'm into the second repeat of the 2nd lace pattern so only about 20 rows to the end. Of course, every other row increases 8 stitches so it's getting slower & slower. The second lace repeat is a little more challenging than the first but still easy to memorize as a row goes along. It's almost a Zen type mediatative knit. Ok, I'll quit gushing over it. It was planned for Mom's birthday but that has come & gone. I'm still planning to finish it this month. Maybe the one month anniversary of her birthday. LOL.  

 

The Canaletto Cowl was a quick, fun knit. The pic isn't very good, I know. I enjoyed the knit just wish there was more cold weather so I could wear it!

What else is on my needles? 

Several projects. Seems that I have a mild case of startitis. I was thinking the other day about my progress as a knitter. When I was a new knitter I rarely had more than one project going at a time. I started one & I finished it. Totally typical. Now, I find that as I near the end of one project I start searching for another one comparable in difficulty level. And I always need a challenging project as well as one completely mindless project. As I'm ending the Irish Diamond Shawl I searched for another lace project. 

To that end I've started the Diamond Lace Dress Up Scarf. It seems that diamonds are appealing to me lately. I really love the look of those open diamond patterns on the edges. I'm using some luscious alpaca/bamboo yarn that was gifted to me by my SS this year.

 

I also have started, frogged & re started the River Slippers from IK Winter 2011. But, I'm just not loving the pattern. I have one slipper almost finished & it has been sitting lonely & neglected in my knitting basket for several weeks. It would be a quick knit if I would just get into it.

For my easy/mindless project I started another Stripe the Squares Baby! This one is being done in chocolate, strawberry & bone Simply Soft. Reminds me of Neapolitan ice cream.  This is a fun, quick & mindless knit.

I finished the Mixed Blues Cowl awhile back but have not seamed it together yet. 

I am working on swatches for my sweater design. This designing stuff is hard work & slow going. I need quiet & plenty of it to work on the design. The original yarn I chose will not work. I don't know why but I think it was too soft to really show the design well. So, I'm on my second swatch using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Tweed in Brass Heather. It's looking pretty good so far.

What am I reading you ask?

I just started The Hunger Games yesterday. This book is so good. It doesn't sound like something I'd like but it got such great reviews that I thought I'd give it a shot. I am hooked! The book takes place in the future in North America. The government sponsors an annual Hunger Games in which young participants are chosen by random draw to participate in a fight to the death "game" which is televised. 

I'm also still into the "In Death" series by J.D. Robb. I'm listening to these on audiobooks. I just finished Ceremony In Death & am taking a break to read The Hunger Games.

Also, reading The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. Gee! I am really into futuristic sci/fi type books. Weird!

One more thing to leave you with.... a cool yarn desktop for February.