Another Diamond Blossom Scarf

My second Diamond Blossom Scarf, from Iris Schreier's book Modular Knits, is now blocking. Worked in ArtYarns Silk Ribbon, colorway 123 on US 7 rosewood needles, I pinned it out to 43 inches by 6 inches. Steaming it loosened it up so much that I may re-block it to add more length. I used 2 skeins of the Silk Ribbon and had enough left for fringe - which I will experiment with, by adding beads...Swarovski, or perhaps Magatmas, Tohos, 11/0 Delicas....Charlottes maybe? Now I have some incentive to unpack and sort through my bead stash. That could be dangerous.

Starburst Shawl

Here's the Starburst Shawl, blocked and ready for anything! Spring is here at last - how nice to wake up to sunshine and blue skies, especially after yesterday's snow.

One Soggy, Messy Knitter

It has been one soggy muddy stretch of days, and I haven't gotten much sleep the past two nights. I've been sitting up watching the emergency broadcasts for tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. My dear husband keeps saying, "This isn't normal for this area," but I'm beginning to doubt him. The drainage creek on the side of our property has gone from a calm trickle to a rushing torrent, complete with waterfall sound effects. The first 5 inches of rain on Thursday night swamped the end of our dock and started swallowing up one of the raised beds. Our neighbor's dock has a bench on the far end, which now appears to be perched insubstantially on the water's surface.
My knitting-needle-eating cats are demonstrating beaming approval of my new knitting needle case. They obviously think I have spread a veritable feast before them. Since I filled up this case, I have discovered Murphy's Knitting Law: No matter how many knitting needles one has, one never has the right size to begin the next project.
And on to more mess: This is the shameful state of my yarn stash, after ransacking it to find an elusive skein of yarn that was apparently eaten by the moving truck. One of these days I will have to get organized....either that, or start knitting my way from front to back of this embarrassingly large stash. I counted 10 plus containers of yarn. I think I need a Knitter's 12-step program.

Silk Ribbon Diamond Blossom Scarf, The Beginning

I didn't give the needles a chance to cool down once I cast off the Starburst Shawl. I have a March 31 deadline to meet so I can qualify for more free Iris patterns!

This is the beginnings of another Diamond Blossom scarf, worked in ArtYarns Silk Ribbon colorway 123. When knitted up, it has a "boingy" texture. I'm using US size 7 Colonial Rosewood dp needles - and one great thing about using dpns is that I can store my markers on the spare needle. This silk ribbon is very delicate and tends to catch on the slightest thing, so I have to slather on skin-softening products before working with it. I'm hoping it will stretch out quite a bit with blocking, otherwise the 2 skeins of silk ribbon may equal a neckwarmer.

Starburst off the needles!

The Starburst Shawl is off the needles and blocking on the ironing board. Since I can't afford a steamer I am using my Rowenta iron, which dripped some water on the shawl, aarrgh! That's what those dark spots are.

I used 4 skeins of Regal Silk colorway 114 and used all but a few yards. I added two additional pattern repeats to make the shawl wider. I used size US 4 bamboo needles, the flexible kind. The finished stitch gauge worked out to 5-1/2 stitches per inch.

I took a picture of the shawl on a hanger before blocking so you can get some idea of the dimensions.

Also a closeup picture of the pattern, again with dark water spots. Aarrgh.

Knitting Olympics Last Leg

The Olympics have been over for awhile, but I am still slaving away over my entry, the Starburst Shawl from Iris Schreier's book Modular Knits, worked in Regal Silk 114. Even though I may be the last competitor to finish, this has been an educational project. I have successfully learned how to knit backwards - if I hadn't I don't think I'd finish this before the next Olympics! Knitting backwards makes working each enclosed diamond go much faster. The yarn colors are sumptuous, and the pattern is very easy to learn. I'll be back in a few days with the finished, blocked shawl. Levi and Coco are obviously more impressed with backyard wildlife than my knitting.