Finished, Started, and Still Slogging Along

Finished: The Spring Things Shawl is finished! Woo Hoo!!! See?
In that photo it's blocking (duh - they can see that, silly) and clearly I need to work on my blocking technique but in my defense this is my first shawl, my first attempt at blocking anything, and my joints were acting up. I blocked it on some 2' square foam blocks made for exercising on. I got mine at Target. I know Wendy got some somewhere else which is what gave me the idea to try it of course.

I used Zephyr and size 4 needles so it ended up a little on the small side with a wingspan of 60" and a drop of 31" after blocking. At the time I started this shawl, I was making it for a nice petite young lady so while I knew it might be smaller, I felt it was fine if it did end up smaller. Now, I shall have to think what I am going to do with it now that it is done. I'm thinking of sending it to my mother's cousin in England (also a nice petite lady) who is very ill and who had done a lot of knitting for my daughter before she got sick. I've been thinking it over for weeks now as I finished the shawl and I have a slight problem. A lot of the time I think it turned out nice enough to be a gift for this wonderful woman but then my inferiority complex jumps out at me and I fret it would be not right for some reason. I tried it on and got hubby to take this photo:
It's not that great a photo, I've got nowhere here inside or out that doesn't look pretty yucky at the moment (that is the least yucky view I think - sad eh?) what with everyone being sick in rotation for months and dead sprinkler systems and remodeling and whatnot. Also, I'm not a model. And also apparently not clever enough to put the shawl on without bunching it at the neck. Still there it is for what it's worth. I'm still not sure what I think about sending it on to my dear Auntie.

When my DD saw it blocking she said "That's pretty, Momma." Then, "can you make one for me, Momma?" I said yes. She said, "Only without the beads?" I said yes again. Then I asked what color she wanted and she asked if I could make it without the lace. While thinking, "Well, yes but then it won't be this shawl will it?" I said I could, and further negotiation ensued. Resulting in, I am apparently knitting her a plain striped shawl in red, white, and blue. I figure if I stall long enough she'll change her mind again so I'll wait for a bit before I go hunting for yarn.

Started: I could resist the call of Nona's Sidewinders no longer and started on my "Snakes on a Strawberry" socks despite still not being finished with my "Inside Out" socks. But I haven't gotten very far. I've already had to rip back once because not only had I started with a larger size 1 than I did my gauge swatch on, I also screwed up one row very early on but didn't realize it until I was almost to the heel shaping. Ok, full disclosure: I knitted an entire additional row while arguing with myself about whether or not I had made a mistake. Despite knowing deep down I had. I do sometimes wonder about myself. Did I think I was going to convince the sock to swap its stitches into the correct pattern on its own just by continuing to knit? Denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
I think the yarn (Spunky Eclectic's sock club yarn - color "Strawberry Fields") is going to look pretty nice in this pattern. I did make one itty bitty change to the pattern because my stitch gauge was a tiny bit off on the smaller size 1 needle but I like the fabric so well for that size needle I wanted to use it anyway. I hope my maths were right and they fit properly when they are done.

Still Slogging along: I'm still slogging along on the Feb Rockin' Sock Club socks (the Inside Out socks) and on the French Market Bag. I'm expecting the June Rockin' Sock Club sock kit any day now and I think to keep from feeling too out of the loop I might start them as soon as they arrive. That will mean I'll have three pairs of socks on the needles at once. There's something scary about that. But then I think, "that just means I have a choice about which socks to work on at any given time and choice is good right?" Possibly I'm deluding myself.