Ingjerd is done

So I finished Ingjerd's Shawl this weekend, and I think it looks great! It was fun to knit too. I haven't blocked it yet, but it still looks ok. The edges could use a light blocking but apart from that it doesn't require much finishing. I've also started collecting Knitpicks Options circs. So far I've bought two cables and three sets of needles. Really really wanted to to get the luxury set, but at 700 NOK it was a bit pricey for my tight budget....although I did spend a couple of hundred on some Rowan KSH... It's going to be made into the Birch shawl. With such fine yarn it's a slow knit, and I really have to stay focused not to make any errors (or too many). I miscalculated the amount of yarn for long-tail cast-on, and let me tell you it's not much fun runnig out of yarn a measly 10 stitches short... Grrrr...

Ingjerd status report

Things have really been speeding up on Ingjerd's Shawl...so bad in fact, I couldn't get myself to go to bed before I reached the stripe part of the pattern last night. Looks like I'l be finished in another couple of days. Strange thing though: I thought it was worked from the bottom up, but it appears to be the other way round :-) It's a really simple pattern to work with, and I can't wait to see the finished shawl.

Shawl in the making

Just a short note to let you know I'm making good progress on Ingjerd's Shawl. A guesstimate at having 30% done at this point. The pattern is really easy to follow once I got the hang of it. Had to rip back two times before it ocurred to me to use a row counter though... And I've been using English patterns for so long now, I'm sometimes having difficulties reading the Norwegian instructions! Hehe, go figure. I've also gone up half a needle size from 4.5mm to 5mm mid-pattern, so it's slightly bigger now, but I think it will block out. The yarn I'm using is Evilla (Estonian), and it's got different shades of red mixed with black. So far I'm still working black, so really hoping for some red to appear soon...but it still looks good though.

Summer fun

From this




To this


And this


Eventually it will look like this

Isn't it pretty? I finally plucked up the courage to wind one of my hanks of yarn into a nice ball. Did it all by hand, it took a total of two nights. Now I know how handy a swift can be...need to get someone to fix the old swift that's been lying in our basement for years. It works fine, just need the part that holds it open repaired. DOn't think I'll bother thinking about a ball winder just yet. I just wrapped the yarn around my thumb, and that worked just fine!