Icarus Shawl - Finished!

Pattern: Icarus Shawl - Interweave Knits Summer 2006
Yarn: Madil Kid Seta (70% mohair, 30% silk) - color: 463
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm) Addi Turbo circular

My first time using a laceweight mohair, I immediately liked it after knitting the first few stitches. I was never fond of mohair until I noticed this yarn last summer at the yarn store and thought it would look very nice for this shawl.

This yarn (almost exactly like Rowan Kid Silk Haze) knits up nicely but it can be unpleasant when you need to rip back. I made quite a bit of mistakes and I remember I had to undo up to two rows more than once. And by the time I realized I needed to rip back, the fibers have already started sticking together, making the ripping process considerably slow. But it's still a very nice yarn to knit with, it turns into a wonderful piece of fabric.

Do you notice that almost two inches of the bottom edge is a different shade of pink than the rest of the shawl? It's my own fault, I underestimated the amount of yarn I needed.

It feels so good to be done finally. So now, back to knitting the rest of Jarrett. It'll be nice if I can finish it before I leave for Hong Kong in two weeks.

Plans

My progress on Jarrett has been slow lately. I just finished making travel arrangements to go to Hong Kong and Beijing in February for three weeks. I'm spending five days in Beijing to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and various other places. The remainder of the trip will be spent in HK exploring the city and visiting relatives. I'll be spending Chinese New Year in HK for the first time in so many years.

I wrote down a few yarn shops that I want to visit in HK. I want to look for unique items like Japanese patterns.

I didn't have any problems getting through security with my Addi's during recent flights to and from Europe. So I'm hoping it'll be ok again this time because I can't imagine 15 hours of free time without knitting.

Happy 2007!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Best wishes for 2007!

This book just came out two days ago. I've been looking forward to the release day. It's a beautiful hardcover book, Classic Knits by Erika Knight.

The deep v-neck sweater on the cover was enough to make me want to buy it. The pattern suggests a lightweight cotton blend yarn, but I think I'll prefer a warm wool blend instead. There's also a round-neck cardigan in fine-weight mohair and a pretty camisole in fingering-weight yarn with a cute cable detail. These designs are delicate, feminine and absolutely wearable. I'm excited just thinking about what yarns to get.

Jarrett Progress

I still have the right front and one more sleeve to knit before making the buttonbands and collar. I started blocking the pieces that are done.

I can't wait to finish and give this to my husband. I've been very good at knitting this sweater without distractions from other projects. Hope I get through the boring finishing quickly because I'm so anxious to start something else on my to-knit-list, most likely the Isla sweater. And also this lovely Kid Silk Haze cardigan.