Goal!

Well, friends, I did it!  I accomplished one of my biggest knitting goals for the year, which was to knit my first lace shawl.  This resolution was actually a carry-over from 2014.  I got a little sidetracked last year with socks (and, by a little, I mean completely obsessed).  This spring, however, brought with it a renewed desire to finally attempt my first full lace shawl.  And, I have to say, I may have a new obsession.  Don't get me wrong -- I still love socks and all their knitting charm, but I think there may be a rash of shawls coming up throughout this spring and summer season.

So, without further ado, I present my Haruni (drumroll, please).

Pattern: Haruni Yarn: GnarledPaw Fat Frida in Blue Blazes

What a great choice this ended up being for my first big lace project.   The pattern is well-written and well-charted, and the final product is just lovely!  I'm especially enchanted with the leaves around the border.  The choice to use a fingering weight yarn rather than lace weight for this first attempt was a good one, I think -- much easier to handle for a newbie.  It took me awhile to get the provisional cast on figured out, but hopefully it'll go a little faster next time.

I did not knit a gauge swatch (big surprise, I know), so this ended up being a little bit smaller than I really was hoping for.  So, when I knit this again (which I plan to do -- and soon), I'll probably add a few more repeats in there before the larger leaves just to make sure it's nice and big.  

Oh, and the yarn -- I loved it!  In fact, I requested a custom order from Liz at GnarledPaw Yarns right after I finished this project.  I ordered a skein of Fat Fiona in her Minty Mintington colorway.  I'm not sure what it will be, although I am really tempted to make that bigger Haruni with it.  That decision will have to wait awhile, though, because I cast on Celestarium to give to my Mom for her birthday/Mother's Day.  More to come on that in the future.  

Anyways, if you've never checked out GnarledPaw Yarns, I highly recommend that you do.  Just looking at her colorway gallery makes me start to drool...I have it pulled up now and I'm having to exercise some serious self control to not order a skein in every single color.  Look away, Aubrey, look away...

I also finally managed to take some pictures of my finished Treebeard Socks!  Here are my two favorites from that shoot.

Pattern: Treebeard Socks Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah Sock in Tourmaline

Fun and fast little knit those guys were, and surprisingly simple.  Now, I just have pick out all the little pricklies that managed to adhere themselves to the socks during the photo shoot.....jerks.  Anyone have any recommendations on how to get super prickly plants (say that ten times fast) out of knitted objects?

In theater news, Juno & The Paycock opened this past Saturday to a nearly sold out house.  It was a super smooth show with only one noticeable line whoopsy, but nothing traumatic or terrible.  We did have one of our actors get in a bad bicycle accident earlier during tech week which resulted in a separated collarbone and a pretty painful looking shiner on his left eye.  Luckily for us, he had a rather minor role and another cast member was able to step in at the last minute.  Hopefully, our original actor will be able to return soon and finish out the run.

The show itself, as I mentioned previously, is extremely easy to call.  I have only 23 light cues and even fewer sound cues over about a three hour period, so I'm getting lots of knitting time for Celestarium.  And thank god for that -- that sucker is huge!  Although, dark blue yarn in a dark booth may not have been the best idea...

Well, that's all for now, folks!  I hope everyone had a lovely Easter full of friends or family (or both!).