Another girl, another planet

Mike said he had "Don't Stop Believing" in his head for two days straight after the Sopranos finale...I nearly suffered the same fate, but managed to shunt it into the Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet." Does anyone else hear similarities between the two? I do feel a bit dissociated lately--I've been working nights for the last week and thus have been even less able to interact with the outside world than usual. On the plus side, I finally finished a few projects. The first is Liesel, which, yes, I was able to knit without singing "I am 16 going on 17" or shouting "Wheee!" at the end. It a little more orangey-orange in this photo than in real life. It wasn't the most enjoyable knit, mostly because it didn't have the redeeming quality of other lace that I've done--that is, half of the rows being mindless purling. I love the leaf pattern, though, and in person it looks like mottled autumn leaves. The other project is the Wave and Shell shawl, earmarked for Mike's mom--although now that it's done, I feel a bit shy about giving it to her...I just think the colors might be a little garish. It was a fairly mindless knit, just a little variation on the Feather and Fan pattern, and I think it's a good idea for variegated yarns. It's not the best picture, I know, but I'm still not quite sure about it. It looks good in closeup, though. Blocking on the living room floor right now is the Promenade Bag (with some modifications). It was a fun knit, with the exception of the linen yarn, which, while pretty, was a little tough on the hands. I still have to seam it and stitch on the handles, but I think it'll be really cute!

Out of sight, out of mind

I haven't updated in a while, but I have been knitting here and there. I finished Ella, which was a relatively quick knit. I started with ~1.5 skeins of Schaefer Marjaana (a lovely, soft yarn with a subtle sheen) and was afraid of running out, so I'd initially skipped one set of increases on the triangle section. However, after nearly finishing it in the smaller size, I realized I'd have enough yarn and decided the shawl would look better as designed, so I frogged back and completed it as written. It's a hefty thing and makes my Clapotis knit out of sock yarn (Schaefer Anne) feel like a whisper. I just wish I had a better picture--it really is a lovely pattern and shows off the variegation nicely. I also finished another Miss Dashwood in clay-colored merino yarn. I prefer the first that I knit out of Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton--it holds its shape better. I feel like the ties are tugging the yarn on this one, although maybe it would've been better if I'd knitted it at a smaller gauge. Oh, and another petal bib, of course (it looks the same as the others). I love these things. I think people are starting to get ideas about my constantly knitting baby accessories, but they're so quick! I think I'm going to try a small sweater out of Knitpicks Shine Sport before I set out on an actual adult-sized garment. I completed branching out v2 for Amy...Actually, technically v3. The first two turned out well, but I hadn't realized I was doing my yarnovers completely wrong (they were all twisted). This one looks more like the picture on knitty...although I have to admit that while doing yarnovers the correct way opens up the empty space, the other way had its own crooked charm. I'm putting the finishing touches on a shawl for Mike's mom. This one is the Wave and Shell shawl, made with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Northern Lights (the name puts the Super Furry Animals song in my head, which is a good thing). The yarn is soft and springy, but it tends to catch and split even on my relatively dull needles. I think I'll make a Dream Swatch Headscarf with the leftover yarn--I was thinking of baby socks, but the colors are a bit dark, and I don't think I have enough for kid-sized socks. After that, all I have to do is finish up Liesel and then I'm free to start something new...probably the baby sweater and maybe another shawl (!). No matter how many I knit, there always seems to be a shawl or two lurking in my stash, waiting to be knit.