Hello again...

Wow! It's already March and I somehow missed February. How is it that the month went by so fast?

I can say that some of my WIPs turned into some FOs! It's such a joy to actually complete a project. I start so many new projects because it's just so much fun that pretty soon I end up with a full bag of new projects and nothing is complete. Or, I finish them, but I just have to weave in the ends and because I am not a fan of weaving in ends, they sit, waiting to be finished.

One of my favorite things to knit are shawls. I completed two during February, which was amazing, considering how busy I was with work.

February was a wonderful month though. We had a lot of snow, which we haven't had much of the past few years or so. I love waking up in the morning and seeing everything covered in snow. I came home early from work last week due to the snow. I have a long commute and I didn't want to get stuck in traffic, so I boogied out early. When I pulled onto my street, the sun was shining bright and it was snowing. I can't recall any cloud, but I was in such awe by the snow gently falling from the sky. It was coming down so slowly and sparkled as it was falling. It was such a view. It looked like slivers of diamonds falling from the sky. Such a beautiful sight!

Let it Snow!

Look at that beautiful sight! I have been waiting for snowfall all winter long and finally... snow.

I left work early yesterday to miss all the crazy traffic during my long commute home. My entire drive along the foothills was beautiful. To see everything covered in a blanket of white snow was such a lovely site.

If we end up with a lot more snow, I'll be outside making snow angels.

Shawls Galore!

This week is off to a great start. Two projects came off the needles this weekend and they're both blocked and ready to be worn! The big project that came off first was the Highland Triangle Shawl by Cheryl Oberle.

This shawl has been a joy to knit and the yarn as well. Knitting lace is at the top of my "favorite things to knit" list. I love Cheryl's designs and since I had the opportunity to take a class with her for the second time, I jumped at the chance. Every time I take one of her classes I learn something new.

The yarn is Blue Faced Leister. I had purchased this a while back with every intention of using for a shawl, but as most of us who "stash" our yarn, we never really know what it's intended for. It just has to be taken home to join all the other skeins that are patiently waiting to be made into something beautiful. Purple is one of my favorite colors, so it was definitely coming home with me. I love the variation in the color and it does not take away from the lace patterns.

My other completed project is Seychelles. This is a project that is part of the Dream in Color group. Every month there is a new yarn and corresponding project. Due to my lack of knitting time, I wanted a quick project so I could have the feeling of completing a project. I always manage to find a very large project to work on that takes a very long time to complete. This shawlette was knit on US 10 and US 11 needles and flew by so quickly. The pattern was easy to memorize and after sitting in front of the tv watching reruns of Farscape for a day, I was soon done.

This one was a little difficult to block, so I ended up having a lesson in steam blocking so I could get this one to look just right. It's times like these that I'm thankful for owning an iron! That probably sounds horrible, but I'm not a big fan of ironing clothes. I like to press fabric (this was my job for my mom when she was quilting) and I now like to steam my finished objects.

I have to thank to June Hemmons Hiatt for writing her resourceful book, The Principles of Knitting, and the wonderful section on blocking. I don't know if this would have turned out as lovely as it did!

So, now that I have two projects off the needles, it is time to start a couple more! Oh, the fun! I can't wait! I already know what I'm starting on... the yarn has been wound into those pretty little yarn cakes. I just have to knit up my gauge swatches and I'll be off!


What's on your needles?