Another Swallowtail

I love wearing and just looking at my Swallowtail Shawl (closeups here) so much and I enjoyed knitting it so much that very shortly after I completed it I cast on for another. This hasn't been as quick a knit but has been at least as satisfying. I'm again using Kaluund Classic Two, this time in "Wisteria." I am enlarging the shawl, hoping to use up as much of two balls of yarn as possible. This is a wonderful travel project because it is small, lightweight, and keeps your interest, but isn't too complicated to knit on in public.

Completion Monday

I love those Monday holidays. On President's Day I completed two more projects, a pair of mittens in periwinkle mystery wool and a brioche stitch scarf in cranberry yarn recycled from a thrift store sweater. I made the mittens for myself and will probably donate the scarf to charity.

Obama Mitts & Wristwarmers

So named because I finished them during Obama's acceptance speech on election night.

Details:
Pattern: Hand/Wristwarmers from Last Minuted Knitted Gifts. I've used this pattern twice before, here and here.
Yarn: Hand dyed "Fisherman" yarn, 39.4 g. total. I've used this yarn before too, here.
Needles: 3.5 mm. (U.S. 4) dpns
Size: Woman's medium. 7" long, 3" wide, unstretched.
Begun: 9/23/08
Finished: 11/4/08
Notes: Cast on was 36 stitches. I added a thumb gusset as described in this post. I again forgot to reverse the twist. I made them so short because I was afraid I'd run out of yarn. Instead I had enough left over to make the matching wrist warmers shown below. They had a cast on of 40 stitches and I used the same needles.
I gave the mitts and wristwarmers to my cousin, Sandy, for Christmas.

Cotton-Ease Log Cabin Complete

The second log cabin blanket is complete. The Cotton-Ease washed well but I'm not confident that the ends will stay in place.

Here it is lounging on a chair on our sunny patio. This photo captures the color the best.

This shows the reverse side.

Details:
Pattern: How To Log Cabin from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I cast on 20 stitches and knit 25 ridges on the public side for the center rectangle. After that I added 10 public side ridges to each strip.
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Sugarplum 144, a discontinued color. I used 5 skeins and had a small amount left over. The final blanket weighed 489.2 g.
Needles: Denise Interchangeables in size 7 (4.5 mm.)
Size: 31 inches by 31 inches after machine washing and drying
Begun: July 21, 2008
Finished: November 2, 2008
Notes: Even though quilt-esque aspect of the log cabin design is obscured when using one color, the design is still visible and gives some needed structure to the blanket. Knitting with only one color was easy and resulted in fewer ends to weave in which always enhances a project in my opinion. I added a three stitch knitted on i-cord border.

Warmth Sent to Cheyenne River Reservation

One of the charities I support is the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Last year there was a mitten blitz challenge on our Native American Support Yahoo Group . We were challenged to make 8 pairs of mittens in 2008. I only managed to knit 7 pairs but I sent them off along with 3 hand knit wool hats and three hand made scarves. I also sent some warm clothing that was not handmade.

Some of the mittens are described here, here, here, and here but I never created an entry for the green felted mittens, the toddler mittens with the green stripes or the wool hats. The knitted red scarf is described here and the other two, crocheted by my mother, are almost identical to this one. They all have attached cards stating the fiber content and care instructions.

The mittens were especially fun to knit and I look forward to participating in this year's challenge.

Alpaca Shetland Triangle

I've been knitting--I just haven't been posting. Here is a sample:

Begun in January with some Classic Elite Inca Alpaca I got at the Fairview Knitters' post-Christmas swap (thanks, Heather). I'm using my new Harmony interchangeable needles (thanks, Mom) in size 5.5 mm (US9).

As usual, it doesn't look too great before blocking.

Blocking opens up the lace beautifully.

This shows the corner detail during blocking. I added two repeats to the border pattern to use up as much of the yarn as possible and to increase the size of the shawl.

In my haste to get this wrapped for my friend's 60th birthday party on February 3rd I failed to take a finished shot. I'll have to track her down.

Another winner from Evelyn Clark. Project details when I have time to post again.