A long-overdue update from the "sticks and string" front

 I've been so busy I completely forgot to post about my Icarus shawl - I finished it in July!

First, it got a sink bath in Eucalan.  You would not believe how long it took to do the bind-off, it just kept going and going, the neverending shawl edge.

Then rolled in a towel to get as much water out as possible.

Here it is, pinned out on the floor.  I did some local investigating and no one seemed to have knitter's blocks or interlocking foam blocks that didn't smell like a gasoline factory.  I made do with vacuuming the carpet extra-good and scowling at the cats since they were more-than-a-little interested in what I was doing with thread, pins, and that big blue thing I kept yelling at them for standing on.  Chaucer insisted on being in the picture so you can see how big Icarus is compared to little, old him.

I think I used about 120 T-pins between the top border and the edge points (I don't have blocking wires, either, *le sigh* ).

Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton, Interweave Knits Summer 2006 and/or The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years.  Knit in Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace, 2.33 skeins.

I also bought a pretty shawl pin of copper to wear with Icarus at the AXS Kuebler Banquet in August (it was pretty, sorry no pictures to show, and Icarus unblocked itself in my luggage on the way back to Iowa; it's currently making-do as a pretty scarf until I get a chance to re-block)

 My next project was started at AXS Conclave in order to teach a fellow brother how to knit cables.  The pattern is June Oshiro's DNA Scarf (but only the DNA bit, I didn't want to knit the border cables).  I bought some beautiful Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Sotobosque to use.

 As you can see, I had a little trouble getting the yarn to wind up properly and spent several hours in ball-winder and swift limbo untangling all the crazy knots before I could get it into two pretty yarn cakes.

It's coming along nicely, albeit a bit slow because you cable on every right-side row at least twice in a very long repeat.  It's not very memorizable.

I also cast-on for Wendy Johnson's Waterfall Socks to use my gorgeous Mini Mochi yarn from Crystal Palace.  I think I borked the eyelet pattern already so I may need to rip back a few rows.  Boo.

And then I bought more yarn.  Why?  Ummm, I was in the yarn shop?

Three very pretty skeins of Manos del Uruguay, mint, berry, and pink.  I think they'll make a nice scarf together.

I am sure this is why I buy yarn all the time, it's for the colors.

Except, in this case, it was the soft luxury.  Plymouth Yarn Paca Tweed.  Alpaca.  I have no idea what I want to do with this yarn, I just had to have it.

I also recently (as in last night at dinner) casted on a new project (no pics yet) for my niece Alexis - her Christmas stocking.  I've become a better knitter in the several years since I made her older sisters' stockings so I should be able to get this done by Christmas.  I'm more experienced in intarsia colorwork and I can knit with both hands now so this should go faster (I refuse to give it to her for her second Christmas).

Knitting rules!  Knit on, knit on.

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