Sarah Blanch is off the needles.  Hopefully, I’ll get to block it tomorrow and take some blocking shots of it.  There aren’t terribly many of this shawl on Ravelry, and it’s a shame because it’s a very pretty and easy pattern.  The main complaint is that the shawl is knitted side to side instead of up and down, so the pattern repeats are extremely long.

My biggest problem now is trying to decide what to make next.  I have several options, so it’s just a matter of deciding what I want to do next.  I’d like either something more challenging to knit thatn Sarah Blanch, or I’d like something quicker to complete.

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My aunt’s scarf is off the needles. I can officially daydream about other projects without any guilt. K1 p1 rib is about the second most boring thing to knit that there is. Knitted lace has always seemed like the holy grail of knitting to me, and now that it’s an attainable goal, I’m getting the itch to do something bigger than a scarf.

Last year it seemed like lace shawls with feathered borders were “the thing.” I kept seeing them everywhere.

First it was the icarus shawl designed by Miriam Felton on the cover of Best of Interweave Knits. I recently bought the download from the designer to have a clean copy of the pattern without having to deal with consulting errata mid-knit. I’m lazy like that.

Then it was Anne of Knitspot’s irtfa’a shawl with it’s beautiful use of Blue Moon Design’s Raven Clan Colors. I’m partial to the Ravenscroft colorway.

More recently, I’ve run across the Seraphim Shawl, also by Miriam Felton. Curse you, Ravelry and your easy to use pattern search function. Don’t you know browsing patterns is better than surfing Don’t you know I’m something of an obsessive pattern collector when I find a designer I like? It’s your fault, Ravelry, that I bought the Zephyros Shawl, too.

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Sigh. I fell for a hat. Because I need another damned knitting project like I need a hole in the head.

<a href=”http://ysolda.com/wordpress/2008/03/04/verity/>Verity</a>, because it’s cute.

I haven’t even knit my first pair of socks, but I know I must make these socks because they’re called Rivendell. Yes, I’ve been stalking these socks since they were on the Yarn Harlot and yes I added the designer’s blog to my once again expanding blog-rolls.

But, then again, we already knew I was this kind of a geek.

Craft.com brought this little vintage beauty to my attention. I’m positively in love with the collar on this one,  Adagio Shawl Pattern and even the color is classic, unlike some vintage patterns where you wonder just what the designer was thinking while choosing colors.  There are all kinds of interesting patterns out there for free, plus vintage patterns you can purchase, too.

My favorite is the Sonota Shawl Pattern. I love the pattern of dropped stitches, which looks like water going around rocks. It almost begs to be made in water colored yarn.

As mentioned in Pink Lemon Twist’s blog, I must have a Drops Tailored Cardigan.

I love the price of
this yarn that Pink Lemon Twist found, but I think I want it in the smouldering ember and I don’t think I want it for this project. I’ll have to think about what yarn I want to make this from, but I just don’t have the energy for it right now.

I just bought a copy of Amazing Crochet Lace: New Fashions Inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace by Doris Chan. I’ve already found several projects I must make. The top three on my list: the Risa robe and the Abydos Vest, followed closely by the Farpoint topper.

After I read Stitch and Bitch and saw the Alien Illusion Scarf, I knew I wanted an illusion scarf, too. Not just any illusion scarf, though. I want an illusion scarf where the TARDIS comes into and fades out of view. That would be the ultimate in coo-ool. I could knit it up in stripes of police box blue and white and it would be a Doctor Who scarf without being “The Scarf.”

Unfortunately, I’m a complete goober when it comes to these kinds of things. I understand once can make one’s own chart. I just can’t quite seem to get exactly how to do it for the whole “illusion scarf” thing and I’ve read several different tutorials on how to do it. It’s driving me crazy.

I mean, I can draw a convincing police box. An average five year old, if they’ve seen one, can draw a convincing police box. If I were just charting it for cross stitch or colorwork of some kind I could do it, but this illusion scarf thing is just slipping past the tips of my fingers as I grasp for it.

So much for my brilliant ideas.