Spring has Sprung

Or so it seems around here. And it's not just because I have these sitting on my dining table:

I just can't get enough of the daffodils. Happily, the city has planted huge swaths of them all along my ride to work, so I've been able to enjoy them everywhere these past few days.

Ok, you're not here to listen to me gush about spring flowers (especially since I live in a high-rise with no balcony so that vase is the closest thing I get to a garden).

I have been knitting lately, see?

That's the beginnings of a Brandywine Shawl that I'm making out of Handmaiden Camelspin for a mother's day gift. Last year I made a little silk lace scarf for my mother and kept getting frustrated with the inelasticity of the pure silk yarn. Neither the camel nor the silk fibers in the Camelspin is elastic at all but the body of the thicker yarn and the combination of the fibers is making for a much more enjoyable knit. Once you get to working the center garter section, in addition to the borders, the pattern is easily memorizable.

Here's a detail shot of the edging so you can see how simple and repetitive it is:

Ok, I admit that it's a bit tough to see while the shawl is unblocked, but trust me. It's quick and easy to learn. The pattern is so simple, in fact, that it gets rather boring if you don't have some other sort of stimulation to keep you going.

Speaking of external stimulation, I just finished listening to the second Steig Larsson book—fantastic series, by the way—over the weekend and was quite disappointed to learn that the third book isn't due out for another month and a half. This series had been my spinning-listening and now I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to listen to next. And what to spin next, but that's another story.

As you've probably guessed from that last comment, I also finished up the pink merino/silk project yesterday. I know I've grumped a bit about the color but I have to admit that I'm in love with this yarn. It's a dk/light worsted weight—a true measurement will have to wait until the skeins have dried—with an incredible bounce and sheen. I can't wait to work with it.

Other gift projects are progressing well. I finished up the first of Z's socks last week and cast on for the second sock on the bus this morning. 

Things were going so well that I somehow cast on for Kerrera. As other ravelers have said, the double garter border does take forever, but it's really not that bad. The sweater body now measures almost 12 inches long. I don't know how that one happened . . . 

That's all for now, since I've got a rice pudding on the stove that needs some attention. Forbidden rice and blueberries make for a wonderful dessert. Now I just have to think of what we're going to have for dinner.