Hanami

The cherry blossoms

scatter and we watch and the

more cherry blossoms blow

~ Onitsura (1660-1738)

Mary was over yesterday morning. We were felting some stuff for her, and in between doing that we snapped a few shots of Hanami. She kindly agreed to model. Thanks, Mary, for strikin' a great pose!

Pattern: Hanami Stole by Melanie Gibbons (my Ravelry page here)
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud - 2 skeins in Peppermint Heather
Needles: US 2 1/2 (3 mm) 24" circular
Size: 15" x 54" (basketweave portion is 29" long and cherry blossom portion is 25" long)
Mods: Omitted beads on cast on; long tail cast on; slipped first stitch of each row purlwise with yarn in front; only knit 16 rows on chart G
Rating: It's pink and fluffy and has a great theme...what's not to love?

As I mentioned waaaay back when, my knitting group is doing a Summer of Lace KAL. For it I decided to finally do Hanami; this pattern has been a back burner on my queue since Melanie published it. What to say that hasn't been said already about it? Uh, not much. The pattern is straightforward and, while it became monotonous somewhere in the middle, provides a great impact when finished. What else? I love a good theme, and this shawl delivers. Though at 54" in length it really should be called a scarf, shouldn't it? Yes, indeed, which just adds to its versatility. Oh, and I love the ruffle. I wasn't going to do it, but at the last minute decided what the heck. Heck was right, because it's a perfect foil for all those falling blossoms.

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In other news, I'm knitting lots. I've even begun *gasp* holiday knitting. More on that later, taters.

On the turntable: Cal Tjader's Several Shades of Jade