OWLs

I saw a similar vest on Oiyi's daughter and quickly settled on what to knit for my friend Amy's soon to arrive baby. I had been going round and round thinking hats, baby surprise jackets, other baby sweaters, baby blanket...decision paralysis at its finest ;)

Pattern: Owl Baby Vest (download via Ravelry) OR get the instructions straight from the designer's blog
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto, superwash merino (because baby things *should* be washable
Needles: US 4 & 5

Comments and Modifications: The biggest modification was the elimination of two owls (original vest has 5 across the front) and the seed stitch band that goes all the way around the vest during the course of the Owl section. I don't know why, but I really do prefer the fewer owls and the seed stitch to the purl field and stockinette on the back of the original. The only nit I have with the pattern is that the owls seem not to be perfectly centered underneath the point of the V-neck. At first I wondered if it was something I did during the course of the conversion (and this may well still be the case - that it's all knitter error on my part) - but looking at some of the other finished projects it seems like at least on some of the vests, the owls are off center.

Overall though, the knit was fast, and the instructions easy to follow - if you're looking to give cables a try, this may well be considered a good project since the more owls you eliminate the fewer cables you actually need to complete ;)

the two-year Secret

Pattern: Secret of Chrysopolis
Yarn: Spritely Goods Cliodhna, in Cranberry (1+ skeins)
Needles: US 3
Finished Size: 27.5 inches by oh, probably 7 feet or so

Comments:
In a word, epic. The entire shawl from one end to the other is charted - there are some motifs that repeat, but truely, charted was the way to go. This was a part of a KAL that started back in September of 2007 - and I had cast on way back then. For whatever reason, the shawl was knit on sporadically and eventually went into hibernation....

...until I received an invitation to some weddings this fall, at which point I began knitting on it furiously. I finished the shawl on the Saturday Night before my flight out to a wedding - just enough time to block it good and proper and get it dry and packed. I think it turned out beautifully - and I've apparently advanced in my lace knitting far enough that I no longer fear dropping stitches back a few rows to "fix" something that isn't quite right. Not visible or obvious in the shot above, the shawl is not only lace, but tis also beaded :)