Summer of Scarves

The following 2 months are going to be dedicated to working on the Raven Shawl for the Easter Show. I have officially entered and paid my registration fee etc, so there is no turning back now. I am also progressing fairly well with Irtfaa; I have completed chart 1 and am halfway through chart 2, which according to my Excel spreadsheet (NERD!!) is about where I should be in order to complete by March. I will however have to purchase a longer lace needle, as my 200 or so stitches are soon to become about 400 or so. eep!

Anyway, before I began seriously applying myself to the shawl (and in some moments requiring less focused knitting), I managed to complete a couple of WIPs from 2009. First up, the Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda:



I've always liked the idea of hooded scarves, particularly in colours which make me look like a gothic nun. But I wasn't sure if it would turn out to be one of those garments which takes about half an hour of assembly and fiddling to get it to even remotely resemble the photo in the pattern. I was pleasantly surprised that, even though I haven't even bought and attached the buttons yet, I had very little trouble getting this to look decent. Anyway, check out the Rav link for more details.

I also managed to finish a project I started in June 2009, a simple garter stitch scarf in Noro Kureyon sock yarn:



This was one of those projects which travelled with me to lots of places where I needed a portable and simple project; including trips to Byron Bay, Jervis Bay and the SCG. Originally I had planned to give the scarf away to someone who appreciates bright colours a bit more than I do, but now that the scarf is woven with all my 2009 travel and leisure memories, I'm thinking about keeping it. Rav link provides specs etc.

Personal Sock Mayhem 2010

Inspired by other bloggers I admire, I plan to embark on a Personal Sock Club for 2010, considering in 2009 it would appear I only knit one pair of socks. I am going to aim for 7 pairs of socks throughout the year, so one package every 6 weeks or so. Here are my chosen yarns:



From Left to Right: Shibui Sock in Seaweed, Hazel Knits Sock in Chocolatier, Numma Numma Toasty in Gooseberry Jam, Sundara Sock in Deadly Nightshade, Vesper Sock in Witchy Woman, and Yarntini Sock in Lime Twist. The caked yarn at the top is my first PSC yarn, Wollmeise 80/20 in Merlot. The pattern I have chosen for it is Cookie A's Kai-Mei (rav link).

And yes, I have started my epic Easter Show project, and am plugging along on the first set of charts for the shoulder shaping. I have calculated that if I continue at the current rate, it will be finished in time. Fingers crossed!