UFOs on Vacation

I grabbed three UFOs for Door County knitting: two pairs of socks and the Garland Shawl, which I started in 2013:

I'm not sure how I got off-track with this. It is a beautiful design by Michelle Bernstein, who writes a great patterns. It took me more than an hour to get going on it because there are three sections and beads, but it was totally worth it. I can't wait to wear the finished shawl.

I'm still enjoying Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. It is amazingly contemporary with its theme of wealth inequality.

And lastly, a stunning wildflower, a yellow Lady's Slipper:

I'd never seen one of these in real life, but Keith spotted a whole group when he was biking and drove me back later to see them.

My last few days in Door County were slower than usual thanks to a sore throat and body aches, but I still enjoyed them.

Joining up with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Warm Weather Colors

I couldn't help but notice that the projects that are calling out to me are either springlike or summery. I've been zipping along on my market bag (pattern unknown). These feel like beach colors to me. The yellow is just so sunny. Don't you love knitting on big needles? The stitches just fly.

My Antarktis is blocking and I am SO tempted to cast on a new shawl, but I am trying to be more organized about my knitting. Instead of starting something new, I'm going to pick up the Garland Shawl by Michele Bernstein, which is in an apple green color -- very springlike!

 As you can see, I have done quite a bit on this project, but it has been in hibernation for a long time. I started it in June 2013! I hate trying to figure out where I am in the pattern, but once I get past that, I think it will go smoothly.

Garland is also the first project I've used beads in. I hope remember how to do that!

As for reading, I'm almost done with Jacksonland. This man should definitely not be on any dollar bill! I have a stack of books from the library and I'll just have to see what sticks.

As always, I'm joining up today with Ginny to Yarn Along.

Mistake Monday

Over all, my Garland Shawl is coming along beautifully.

However, somehow, in the middle of a super-easy garter stitch, I made a big mistake. I thought about frogging and reknitting, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. Instead, I decided it was time for me to learn how to knit to the point of the problem and fix it with a crochet hook.

Clearly, I don't understand this procedure:

If this were a gift, I would have ripped back and reknit. But I know that I want to keep this and I decided I could live with this sloppy fix.

Does anyone else choose to live with visible errors?

In Progress

This is not an FO Friday, but I do have projects in the works, including:

Any guesses on what this is going to be? It won't be used as a flat picture.

I am not going to share my sketch from yesterday. I went out sketching with Marsha and Tsela again, and my drawing was absolutely awful! In the future, though, I should try to get copies of their pictures. They are both really talented.

I started the decrease half of my Garland Shawl. I'm looking forward to having it go faster as the rows get shorter!

WIP Wednesday: The Trouble With Monogamous Knitting

You've seen a photo similar to this:

But what is a monogamous knitter to do? I've been knitting steadily on my Garland Shawl, and today I hit the halfway point!

Monogamous knitting is not typical of me -- and I think that blogging is part of the reason. Really. Who wants to see the same project over and over, with just a few more inches each time?

I could probably be 75% of the way done if I haven't had to frog and re-knit so much. I don't know why I've been making so many mistakes. I can't blame the designer as the pattern is very clear. I guess it's just my ADD brain.

Is it my imagination: The garter section looks ragged. Hopefully it will all block out!

I've finally gotten on board with Tami Amis's Work-In-Progress Wednesdays. You can join in the fun here.

KAL Coming Along

My Garland Shawl is coming along beautifully. I'm on the eighth repeat for the edging, out of (I think) 19 total.  The border seemed hard the first time I worked through it, but it turned out to be fairly easy -- I'd recommend this pattern to a fairly new lace knitter.

The beads do slow things down -- but I think they are totally worth it. The shawl's designer, Michelle, has come up with a perfect way to contain and use beads using an Altoids-type tin. You can see it here. But if you decided to knit it without beads, it would go very quickly.

I've mostly knit this sitting on our front porch -- my main way of getting outdoors. However, I am walking a little more each day. As I've said before, I do not recommend breaking your leg. It is nowhere near as fun as you might think!

Monday Mistake

Here it is: the first Monday of summer vacation. And it feels ... odd. I forget from year to year that it takes a good week to switch to a vacation mood. It still seems like there must be children at school waiting for me!

The weather yesterday was beautiful -- warm, blue sky, not too humid -- so I spent a chunk of time sitting on the front porch and working on my Garland Shawl. Apparently I was a little too relaxed because I knit a few stitches of garter stitch into a stockinette section. Can you see it? I'll have to go back and rework those stitches.

Note: I tried to circle the mistake in Photoshop Elements, which I was able to do. However, Blogger wasn't able to upload the altered photo. I wish they'd come up with a Photoshop Elements for Dummies program.

I know I don't thank my readers often enough for their comments, so let me do that. You guys are awesome. And you help me so much. For example, Alicia of Woolen Diversions pointed out that I should provide the link when I mention my Etsy store. Duh! How did I fail to think of that?

At any rate, my Etsy store is right here.

Wednesday WIP

I am just in love with the Garland Shawl, which I'm knitting as part of a KAL. The construction is so clever. The shawl is knit from end to end, with three sections that run the full length: an i-cord edging, a garter stitch section, and the leafy garland border. This isn't the best picture because I had to use a flash. I'll get a better one when it stops raining here!

Today we had the Farewell Celebration for our 8th-graders. I'm tired, but in a good way. This was a great group of kids -- really, the best ever -- and I am sad that my time with them has come to an end. My broken leg kept me from participating in the more crowded events of the day, but I made sure I could participate in the ceremony and the reception for the parents. Teaching can be so hard; many days leave me feeling like I'm not helping anyone. But to receive so many hugs and thank-you's makes it all seem worthwhile.

Ready, Set, Swift!

My main goal for this evening is to swift (is that a verb?) this skein of yarn:

My Spring Green skein from Knitted Wit arrived Saturday, just in time for the Monday cast-on for KAL of Michelle's Garland Shawl. Michelle designed the Zen Rain Shawlette, which is one of my most-worn shawlettes. It's pretty and versatile and just plain easy to wear.

Garland looks like it has all of those same qualities -- plus, it has an intriguing architecture: You knit it from end to end, the long way. It also incorporates beads -- something I've wanted to add to my knitting for a while. There are two versions of the shawl; I'm going for wide and shallow.

I ordered this colorway of Lorajean's Cashy Lite (80/10/10 Merino/Cashmere/Nylon, 495 yards). It's my first taste of Knitted Wit yarn and I have to tell you that it is smooshy!

It's not too late to join us. Believe it or not, this is the first KAL I've ever done. Michelle writes great patterns. Dive into your stash or hit the yarn store tomorrow -- and cast on with me!