A new project

I am so excited! Anne has published her pattern for the Irtfa'a shawl! I have been watching its development with bated breath, and it has come out! I seldom follow patterns, as there's usually something that I would like to be a little different about my version of a project, but not this time. I am making this shawl exactly as published, right down to the color of yarn. There is a point where one just does not mess with perfection, and this is about as close to perfect as it gets. It's just stunning, and it's going to take me forever, but I can't wait! We haven't gotten shipping confirmation on the yarn yet, though, and it's going to be a long wait. At least now I can pore over the pattern and maybe do some warm up swatches in anticipation. I have a feeling that practice wouldn't hurt on some of those lace patterns!

Having to wait will also give me time to finish my Elijah (yes, another patterned project...I don't know what's come over me lately) from Ysolda's blog. He has just one ear to go, so I'm hoping to be done tonight. It's a good thing, too; I have decided that stuffed animals are not my cup of tea. They're adorable, but there's something about managing 5 needles on a stuffed object that is not much fun for me. It's fine until I add the stuffing, and then it's a fight from there. Still, he's been a quick project, and I'm sure he'll be much loved by a certain wee one that will meet him on Christmas. I'll post pictures when he's done.

I am also almost done with my Bearfoot scarf (yes, I know, using a sock yarn for a scarf makes no sense, but I did it anyway, and I love it). More on that later, too.

Nothing much doing with the sweater lately; I'm into the arm increases, but nothing very exciting yet. Hopefully I'll get back to that once the smaller projects are wrapped up.

I'm still thinking about what to do for a pattern on Branden's latest pair of handwarmers; I have some gorgeous alpaca yarn (can we say soft?) that I couldn't keep my hands from petting all the way home from the yarn store, but I don't have the perfect pattern for it yet. It's a really dark grey, so it will take a special kind of stitch to show up nicely. I can't wait to get it on my needles, but I keep telling myself that I should finish up these other quick projects first. Really, I'm probably just enjoying the anticipation...

And now, to knit. I'm hoping for some pictures of finished objects soon, so that I'll be ready when that Raven arrives for Irtfa'a