Shawl Inspiration

I have attempted to knit a shawl twice now and neither have been successful. The first one was just too difficult for me. I knit about 6 or 7 repeats of the stitch pattern and could just not get the hang of it. It was too tedious and frustrating to me. The second one got much further but I have recently come to the realization that the yarn is not quite right for the pattern and/or I don't think I have enough yarn for it. Here is my Sarcelle currently: I still love the pattern and it's easy enough that I was able to memorize the stitch pattern after just a few repeats. I think it needs a finer yarn than the Hand Maiden Sea Silk that I started out using. Even though the Sea Silk is labeled as a laceweight yarn, I think it's actually closer to fingerling weight. I want one that looks like this one!

So, the other day while surfing blogs I ran across two different gorgeous shawls completed recently. These inspired my third try: The Swallowtail shawl from Fall 2006 Interweave knits.

I have seen so many beautiful versions of this shawl ever since the pattern came out. Everyone said it was a fairly easy lace project to do. Guess what? so far they are right! Look at how far I've gotten since starting it yesterday! Of course I am following Vanessa's lead by using a single skein of Sea Silk and size US 7 needles. I think hers came out absolutely fabulous! I like how the larger needles are making it nice and lacy. Plus, it's knitting up quicker and making a bigger shawl overall. :)

Happy Day

First sewing project (from my recent fabric haul): new curtains for spare bedroom.

You may remember that I've recently "redone" the spare bedroom (read about it here). Well, I decided that it was too white or too dull or something. It definitely needed some color. What do y'all think? I really like it. Even though it's a very bold pattern, it doesn't overwhelm you because the rest of the room is very clean and simple. I basically just copied the general design of the Ikea curtains I had hanging there before. Pretty simple. I gotta say, I think I'm much better at just winging it and not needing a pattern with sewing than I am with knitting. Of course, I can only speak for making household and accessory items such as curtains, pillows, tote bags, etc. I don't ever really sew clothes for myself. Too time consuming.

And, lest you forget that this is a knitting blog, here is sock number one of my Interlacements Tiny Toes Southwest socks.I think this pattern (Cable Twist) has held up pretty well against the pooling.

Oh yes! and Happy Anniversary to my sweet Hubby! Four years ago today I married the love of my life. We're off to celebrate now!

Some fabric love

Oh, I'm so in love with these Laurie Smith (remember her from Trading Spaces?) fabrics from Hancocks!

And the best part.....only a $1.20 a yard!! can you believe it! they were all on clearance. I have plans for most of it....if I ever have time to get to it all.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me. Hope everyone has a good one!

Needless to say, not much knitting got done

Actually, I've been back since last friday but what with all the unpacking and cleaning, etc. I just never got around to posting. And now, work is trying to swallow me up! ugh. I managed to get off on time today though so I think I'm starting to get caught up.

New Mexico was awesome! These are just a few of the highlights.

We camped in a tent the first three nights (we're extremely cheap) in the Red River area. While we were up in this area we did some off-roading on all the jeep trails they have in the mountains. It was beautiful! and a lot colder than I thought. It got down to freezing two of the nights. Then we visited friends in Albuquerque for a night and saw the petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument.

We then made our way back up towards Santa Fe and saw the "tent rocks" at the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This area was really amazing! We took another day trip to Bandelier National Monument and saw the ancient cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians.We stayed 3 nights at The Bobcat Inn, just outside of Santa Fe. I HIGHLY recommend this place! It was very affordable, clean, quiet, beautiful, and the owner, who used to be a caterer, cooks the most delicious gormet breakfasts every day! I really didn't want to leave.

So there you have it! This is a great area for families to go too...so much to do, all within easy reach of Santa Fe. Of course, we here in North Texas have it pretty easy because it's only a 9 or 10 hour drive from here. Even with gasoline being high it's still cheaper than flying.

Now, I must get some knitting done! I only have 3/4 of a sock to show for the past week and a half.