The blues

My knitting and crochet projects of late have been very blue. I love blue. It is my husband's favorite color. It is my 2nd-favorite color (my first, of course, is purple!). I finally started the Seraphina's Shawl for my mom. Here is what it looked like when I started out:



And here's what it looked like the last time I took a picture of it:



It has grown since then. I hope it will get big enough for my mom by the time her birthday rolls around--I have a little less than a week, but it's progressing quickly. I'm very happy with it. The first 10 or so rows were a pain in the butt, but once I got the hang of the pattern again (this is the second time I've made a Seraphina), it became much easier.

The Lion Homespun was a different story. Homespun, I love you, but every once in a while you give me a bad skein...In this case, 2 bad skeins in a row. Not cool! The bad skeins are the ones in which the yarn gets all bunched up when you try to work with it. I've been using them anyway, because I don't really have a choice, since that's what I have and I don't have the receipt (I bought it at least a year ago!). That's made it much harder to work on this shawl than it was on the last one.

On to my knitting...I'm still working on Wingspan. I'm now on the 5th "triangle," but this pic was taken when I'd just started the 4th:



My cable cast-on for the 5th triangle was not very good. Too loose in places, so it's made my knitting a bit uneven and the shape of the triangle isn't as, well, triangular. But I didn't correct it, I just kept going. This is my first real knitting project and I am in love with it and I will look at it someday and say "Wow, I can knit so much better than that now!"

Wingspan progress, secret and not-so-secret crochet

Well, here I am again. Hello! :) Since my last entry, I've started making that Wingspan scarf/shawlette. I've finished 2 "triangles" so far and am starting on the 3rd (they are all knitted as one piece, but look like separate triangles, and for each one you have to cast on some new stitches). It's a really fun project. Here's a pic I took when I was still working on the first triangle (note the handmade stitch markers! I love my coffee bean and butterfly):



Sorry it gets cut off at the edge there. Please click on the picture if you'd like to get the full effect. I tried to do the cable cast-on after the first triangle, when the pattern says to cast on 16 st. I did it wrong, but it still worked! Anyway, yesterday at S&B, another member very kindly taught me the correct way to do it. I am really glad, and I really hope I remember how to do it when it gets to be time to cast on new stitches for the next triangle!

I caved and bought my own set of interchangeable circular needles. I wound up getting the Trends Acrylic Deluxe Set by Knitter's Pride. I actually got it from an ebay seller so I could get free shipping. I got a really good deal. I am not in love with the needles--I find the acrylic to be a bit "sticky"--but they are fine for my first set. I'll get wooden ones when I can, but for now, these will do.

I lined my Spring Bag with the scarf, as planned. Here it is:



I've been using it as a project bag, and I absolutely love it! The lining is not strong at all, so I have to take care that my needles don't punch through it (I'm using it to hold Wingspan for now).

I have a few secret crochet projects to work on at the moment. I'm itching to blog about them, but won't be able to till...probably June. Shhhh.

The one not-secret crochet project I need to start is a Seraphina's Shawl for my mother, whose birthday is May 30 (!!!). Gotta get going on that. She requested it, hence the not-secretness. ;) I've had the yarn for it for a while (Lion Brand Homespun in Windsor, a pretty blue colorway). I should probably be working on it now, but instead I am blogging. Oy vey.

I bought a lovely sleeveless lavender dress for a friend's rehearsal dinner later this month. I am so excited about it. I really, really want to make a shrug to go with it, but I have neither the time nor the right yarn. I've actually bought 2 black boleros, but one is too big and the other seems a little too informal. I don't know. I'd rather return those and make my own. I wish I had much more time!

I leave you with this photo of gorgeous lilacs blooming in the courtyard of our apartment complex: