Icarus will have to wait...

Like Grace said the other day, I’m also planning on knitting along with her on the Icarus shawl. I’m using some yarn from my stash, Knit Picks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. I love the varied shades of blues and green in this yarn—not to mention how soft this Alpaca and Silk blend is. I’ve seen some really pretty versions of Icarus on Ravelry done in variegated yarn, so I’m really excited to see how this turns out!

This project will be many firsts for me: my first lace shawl, my first time working with lace weight yarn, and my first time working from a chart. I’m nervous and excited. I swear sitting down and looking at that chart was really overwhelming! Whenever I’ve knit a pattern that has a chart for a stitch pattern where it’s also written out I’ve opted to work from the written instructions. Luckily I have Grace to help me along the way. I was all ready to sit down and start Icarus the other day when I realized I don’t have the needles I needed! How frustrating! I guess I’ll have to hold off for a few more days while I wait for my needles to arrive.

Yesterday I decided to work on something I haven’t touched in over three weeks—my My So Called Scarf. I finally wound my second skein of LL Bullfrogs and Butterflies and got back to knitting. I think a break from this project is really what I needed. I’ve gotten into a rhythm with the stitch pattern and things are moving along very quickly and smoothly. I’m about half way through this skein of yarn so the end is in sight. I should be finished with this puppy by the end of the week! Maybe I’ll get around to another UFO while I’m waiting for my Icarus needles to arrive?

After knitting Icarus (and maybe during too, we’ll see how it holds my attention) I plan on starting on gift knitting for Christmas. I already have a few little things planned that I’ll be knitting for people. I want to knit a pair of dashing mitts for Kenny and a Jess Hutch Robot for Camdyn. There’s also a few other little things I’ve got planned but I’m still searching for more great gift ideas. May I ask, what has been the favorite thing you’ve knit as a gift? Big or small, I’d love to hear stories of great hand knit gifts!