Spring!

Well, no, it’s not spring, but we have this weird thing in Santa Cruz where we get a mini-spring (this year it’s an almost-summer) during the second half of January. The clever knitter seizes the moment and starts blocking, because such opportunities do not last forever.

First up is LacyKaty, a lovely, asymmetrical swoop of a thing.

I knit it in Fleece Artist Nyoni, which Little Knits was carrying a while back at a great price and in wonderful, saturated colors. Since it has 350 meters to a skein, one has to look about for the right pattern, as most small shawls take about 400.

I suspect that some 350 meter shawl/scarf patterns will be on my agenda this summer, both for the fun of designing them, and as an excuse to use more of this yummy yarn that I’ve got waiting in my stash.

Next up is the Wisteria Arbor Shawl from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders. I knit this out of Berroco Metallic Sox.

The pattern called for size 9 needles, and I went down to 8s, but given my tendency to block aggressively, I think I’d go even smaller next time. I love the size of this shawl, but I think the stitch pattern would show up better if knit a bit more tightly.

I also blocked the “playing around” shawl I cast on for on January 1. It needs some adjustments, but I’m pleased with parts of it and can see how to develop these into a lovely finished pattern. Among my thoughts: keep the decorative bind-off, try it as a half-circle pi shawl instead of a modified triangular shawl, and most definitely nix the self-striping yarn.