Limoncello

The Citron is finished and looks great. Like everyone else, I am surprised by how small it turned out but it was only one skein of sock yarn after all. I could have blocked a little more aggressively but I didn't want to pull all of the ruching out. I added beads to the bottom and that added some weight which I like. This was my first foray into beads + yarn and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I have never really thought of myself as a bling kind of lady but the sparkle that the beads add is really fun.

I added three small clear beads to every other bind off stitch to make little loops along the bottom.

After the beading was done (which took a few days and several trips to the craft store), it was time for blocking. Dilemma! I have no blocking mats! No problem, picked up these little babies at a local drug store for $5. I think they were made for hopscotch.

After checking them for color leaching (and finding none), the shawl was pinned & sprayed & and sat for 30-ish hours.

. . . .And ta da!

One pretty project.

My husband, Ted, says I'm obsessed with my knitting (I think it's an unfair statement, I just enjoy it a lot and often). So as soon as I finished this project, I cast on the next one:

The Barton Bag

This was a free pattern at Apple Yarns during this year's LYS Tour. Mine is a dark olive-y color and is nearly ready to assemble. After knitting on 5's for the last project, size 10 needles feel like using the big crayons at school. Or one of those large novelty pencils. This will be my first felted project. That will make two (count 'em TWO) new techniques for this year. Both new techniques (beading and felting) seemed like two things that I didn't necessarily NEED in order to function as a knitter but they are fun novelty things to do.

World Wide Knitting in Public Day is coming! (Second Saturday in June) I don't know where I will be but I will manage to sneak a little knitting in somewhere in public I imagine.

p.s. my spell-check thinks ruching isn't a word. It so is! This spell-check has not been watching enough Project Runway