I love the month of May!  It is one of the most beautiful times of year here in the Pacific Northwest as color gushes forth from every twig, bush, and bramble after our long gray winter.  There are flowers — bluebells, candytuft, azaleas, camellias…And, oh, there are leaves!  Luscious, luscious  leaves!  What were bare sticks last week are transformed with leaves that seem to have unfurled overnight.  There are a thousand shades of green basking in sunlight and ruffling in breezes.

I am a fan of green!  It is supremely right that May is my birth month — with all its manifestations of green — and my birthstone is, of course, the emerald. I unabashedly celebrate my birthday all month long  — there are a lot of other events going on in May (including Mother’s Day which always lands right on or right around my birthday of May 13) so I have found it best to tuck some personal celebrating into the odd corners of the days and weeks — and why not carry around a general festivity if you can get away with it for a month?!

I usually get myself a birthday present too.  Frequently something knitting-related!  This year, I ordered 2 sets of Addi-Click interchangeable needles (there are 10 sizes of needles in each set — one set with regular points and one with the extra-pointy lace points — with different lengths of cords that can be attached by a most nifty “click” system to the different sized needles — a sort-of “build your own circular needle” situation).  I have wanted these sets for years — and they have even made it to my Christmas wishlists a few times!  So, this year when I asked myself what I wanted for my birthday, I said “The Addi-Clicks!”  And through the magic of amazon prime they arrived in time to kick off my birthday month 🙂

I already have Spring/Summer knitting projects on the Addi-Clicks — but they are in that just-cast-on state where they look like scrunched yarn worms snuggled up next to the needles.  Not really photo-worthy yet.  So, in celebration of May, I am sharing pictures of the shawl I knit myself for my birthday a few years ago.  The pattern is from Knitted Lace of Estonia  by Nancy Bush — a traditional lily of the valley lace (May’s birthday flower!) — and I chose a yarn in shades of (no surprise!) green.  I enjoy it year round, but especially in May 🙂