If forced to categorize myself as a knitter, I would say I am a “shawl knitter” by nature.  I find great joy in designing them — and get ridiculously excited knitting them even if they are someone else’s design! There are endless possibilities of color combination, stitch patterns, yarn types, even shawl shapes.  I wear shawls all the time both at home and out-and-about.  

They are like wings: butterfly wings, bat wings, dragonfly wings, bird wings…Just thinking about it can get me inspired and send me rummaging through my yarn stash and flipping through stitch dictionaries!  In fact, I get inspired a bit too readily — which is why I always have several shawls “in process.”  Shawls take a lot of knitting time.  That is the cold, hard truth I have to say to myself when I start panting over the latest Stephen West design or the next “drop” of Hedgehog Fibres or Spincycle Yarns.

Or when I get an idea…a concept…a theme…

I have a lovely pair of “bat yarns” staring me in the face even as I write!

But I also do more prosaic knitting, especially at this time of year when warm hats and mitts and socks and sweaters become most welcome.  I have just cast on hats for two of my grandsons.  And, of course, there is George’s sweater — which is at the very-plain-sleeve-knitting stage now.  A sleeve is actually a LOT of knitted fabric.  And then when you finish that, there is the second sleeve to do!  A lot of love is going into that sweater 🙂

My Envy Hood (Julee Mackessy design) is coming along nicely and I am continually swooning over the yarn colors (Knitted Wit’s “Great Pumpkin”).  

It has a delightful “flower” detail which is fun entertaining to execute too.

I have certainly moved into wooly wintery knitting mode!