Knitting and flying (though not at the same time)

Here's what I did this weekend:











































































BHE's friend from college took us flying. BIL got to be at the controls the whole time, including helping with two take-offs and landings. It's really great to know people who can fly!

I also finally got some photos of my recent knitting, with BHE's invaluable help. Here is a sample:

Check out the rest on Ravelry here and here. It's great to have a pattern named after me (well, maybe the different spelling means it's really not my pattern, but I'm just going to ignore that). And doing my first knit-along has been pretty fun, especially since it looks like the end result will be a pair of socks I might actually want to (have to?) wear come January. Utilitarian and fun - what could be a better combination?

Swallowtail FO

yummy nupps

Project Details
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl
Source: Ravelry
Yarn: roughly 1.5 skeins Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in redwood
Needles: U.S. 4 Addi lace 40" circulars
Started: February 21, 2009
Finished: May 7, 2009
Made For: Cousin Kristy
Modifications: 19 repeats of first motif; repeated first portion of lily of the valley border
Raveled here

This pattern is a really great knit, even for a first-time lace shawl knitter like me. The combination of written and charted instructions was easy to follow, and the finished product was exactly as advertised.

A word to the wise for those who have not made nupps before: make the yarn overs really really really loose. Or better yet, don't believe me, but practice on a swatch first. And then when you try to purl through five stitches and can't get the needle tip in, much less the yarn around and through, you'll know what I mean. I wish I had practiced before I suffered through that first, interminable row of nupps of death.















another in-the-nick-of-time finish... blocking the night before we left for our trip

I gave this shawl to my cousin Kristy who is just one semester away from finishing law school - woo hoo! Once again I forgot to get a picture of her wearing it, but I have higher hopes of her sending me a glamor shot in the near future than I do of my mom doing so with her sweater.

This was also my first time using blocking wires, and overall I think they are extremely handy. Usually they make creating even edges on shawls a breeze. Clearly, my shawl is not the clearest example of this - my scallops could be much more scalloped. Perhaps next time around I will leave myself a little more time to make that happen. There's always something new to learn with knitting!

Mothers' Day Sweater FO

shoot, I forgot to smile for the photo

Project Details
Pattern: #73 Women's Top-Down Short-Sleeved Cardigan by SweaterBabe
Source: sweaterbabe.com
Yarn: roughly 8.5 skeins of Nashua Handknits Natural Focus Ecologie Wool
Needles: U.S. 10 Addi Natura bamboo circulars
Started: December 28, 2008
Finished: May 13, 2009
Size: knit the 44.5 inch size on smaller-than-recommended needles to obtain a smaller size
Made for: Mom
Modifications: 3/4 length sleeves; no pockets
Raveled

Can I get a woot-woot for my first adult-sized sweater? The sweater was knit to Mom's precise measurements, and miracle of miracles, it fit exactly!

Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a photo of her actually wearing the finished product. You'll just have to imagine the beautiful pewter buttons I found at the last minute at the same store where we originally picked out the yarn together. I've asked her to send a photo of herself wearing it, but most likely I'll have to wait to take one myself next time I see her.

It's quite a toasty garment, so she probably won't be wearing it any time soon, but with any luck it will become a favorite layer for those cold New England winters.

(Modifications added)