Done, done, done!

WooHoo! I finished my scarf/shawl and got the pictures submitted for class. Here’s a look at the finished product.

I absolutely love how it turned out. I have dubbed my version of this pattern the “Spring of Life” shawl because of how the butterflies remind me of the whimsy of youth. I hope my grade reflects the amount of time I put into this project.

They’re done!

Finished my socks today. They just need washed with the next load of laundry and they’ll be ready for wear. Check them out:

Sorry for the bad pictures (and the swollen ankles). I should be able to get better pictures after they are washed!

Alternate Progress

Well, I’m still working on the socks; I’m up to the heel on the second one. But I had to take time off from them to work on a project for a Humanities class I’m taking. I had to come up with an original art project based on the word “Spring”. I am not really a “art person” so I’m knitting for my project. This is what I have so far:
It’s a heavily modified version of Foldi’s Butterfly Lace Shawl. Heavily modified because it’s a hand-knitting pattern and I’m knitting it on my Passap. I love how it’s looking so far. I’m about half done with the knitting. I need to knit the other half of the shawl and graft the two pieces together at the center. I am also thinking about dyeing it starting with a dark pink at the ends and fading to the natural color at the center.

Discoveries

I’ve been working on the Orla Spring Socks pattern from Ravelry here. And I have discovered a few things:
1. I only like ankle socks. I originally made a taller sock and I didn’t like how it felt on my ankle.
2. I HATE French heels. I knit one complete sock according to the pattern, but I am now frogging it to make a pair that I will actually wear. I prefer a short-row heel, at the moment the Fish Lips Kiss heel is my go-to.

You can see from the picture that the FLK heel is much smoother; it also fits better on my foot.
3. I love the “flat” toe from the pattern (with a few modifications).

I love the roundness of this toe. The pattern originally called to you to decrease down to 8 stitches and then gather them, but that would have completely ruined the shape. Instead, I knit toe-up starting with 24sts and just changed all the decreases to increases. I love the look of it, and it fits perfectly.
4. It takes about the same amount of time to knit a sock as it does to drive from Lebanon, MO to San Antonio, TX. I knit, or rather re-knit, the first sock of the pair while my husband drove us to San Antonio for vacation this last week.