Progress

I have almost finished my Ashton Shawlette! Not bad for my first shawl. Lace is fun; it is nice and rhythmic and never boring. 

I did most of the work while I was in Virginia last week and I will finish the knitting here in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, I won't be able to block it until I get back home to Custer and that won't be until the 16th. 

I did end up switching to a circular needle. It was just too many stitches for the straight needles. But I was lucky enough to find a lovely little yarn shop in Alexandria, VA that carried Hiya Hiya circulars. 

While in Virginia, I also picked up some new yarn that will hopefully end up in a designing project. 

As for myself, I am feeling ok. Sad sometimes and happy others. I am starting to be a little tired of traveling and I find that I am getting anxious to be home and working on projects. But I will enjoy it while I can and get the most of it. 

Getting Started

I started working on my Ashton Shawlette today in Portsmouth, NH. I am trying to learn how to keep working on these things no matter where I am. So far, so good, but I am beginning to wonder if the striping in the yarn is going to become a little bit weird as the shawl grows. Lace charts have been pretty simple on this pattern so far and I am excited to watch the pattern emerge. 

A New Project

Today I finally decided to put aside the boring black socks and do something fun. Knitting was becoming drudgery, so I decided to spice it up and take a shot at doing a lace shawl. I chose the Ashton Shawlette pattern and pulled out some Berrocco Sox sock yarn. 

I'm going to try to do the pattern on straight needles because I don't have the circulars called for, and let's be honest here, I probably don't need to buy new needles for every project I do. I will let you know if any difficulties develop, but I have always liked using straight needles. I know that circular is all the rage, but I am a bit of a traditionalist. 

The yarn touches a bit of a nerve. I initially bought it to make socks for my husband. So much of life we never got to. But repurposing things helps to recontextualize life, and I'm sure he wouldn't have minded even if he were here to argue. 

This is the first project that I will be using a pattern on my iPad Mini for and I am excited. I will be traveling to the East Coast next week and it is awesome to not have to carry any books with. 

Finally, I am no longer in Saint Paul. I moved back in with my parents in Custer. Hopefully this means that I will have more time to knit and sew. Realistically, I have been traveling and working on incredibly boring socks. But things should perk up this fall, and I hope to have a lot more to share. 

My nascent shawlette: