Kudzu

I adore my newest creation - the Kudzu shawl by Rachel Henry (ravelry)  The pattern was easy but fun, not to mention the super soft cashmere yarn!  This one came off the needles a few weeks ago, but has been stalled in the blocking pile due to its size.

Leaf lace is becoming one of my favorites to knit, and this one has interesting detail with the progressively larger leaves.

Hats, hats, and more hats

Ugly Sweater Party 2011 is just around the corner.  I have promised a hat to the winner of the Ugliest Sweater competition, so I thought I'd toss a few photos of recent hats up.  Without further ado, I present hats, hats, and more hats!

Nothing can stop me!

Wrist surgery may have sidelined my everyday activities like riding a bike or cooking for a few weeks, but nothing can stop the Knit Machine!

Birthday Shawl

Another one of my favorite shawls from this year was Summer Flies by Holly and Ella Knits.  This one was for Mom's big b-day back in May. A quick knit with a very lovely result.

Wedding Shawls

2011 - the year of the shawl. Fascinated by lace and inspired by two big events, I spent most of my knit time this year on shawls.

The first wedding shawl came to be almost by accident. Having fallen in love with the Frozen Leaves pattern from anusla (using like2makething's adaptation of the pattern), I cast on with a cobweb wool in a cornflower blue with no particular recipient in mind. About halfway into the pattern it struck me that it was the exact same color as a certain someone's wedding theme. Thus, Wedding Shawl #1 was born:  

The detail of the leaves on this pattern was great in the cobweb yarn:

As soon as the idea struck that Frozen Leaves was for cousin-in-law-1, I knew which yarn belonged to cousin-in-law-2. It was a beautiful yellow baby alpaca that I has picked up from the thrift store about a year ago. It had been hanging out in the stash waiting for the perfect project. After several false starts, I discovered the Feather Duster from Susan Lawrence. With the yarn's slight halo, it was the perfect match.

I love the flow of this shawl. Circles (as opposed to hard lines) are harder to create than you might think!

Congrats to both beautiful brides!