Off and On the Needles

I'll start with finished projects:

 

Thistles by Kimberly Gintar is another winner and another test knit. This shawl is number 17 in 12 Shawls in 2012. The yarn is KnitPicks Shadow, something I found in my stash; knit with US size 5 needles.

Shawn the Shelf Elf is based on the book, Elf on a Shelf and is another test knit for Kimberly. (Kimberly is living in Germany and is my unnofficial adopted daughter- found each other on Ravelry.) I used left over sock yarn from my stash and knit it on US size 1 1/2 needles. He is so cute!If you are not acquainted with the story, the child is given the book and the elf and when the child names the elf it comes to life. Each day it sits in the home and observes the child's behavior (hopefully it is good before Christmas) and at night goes to the North Pole and reports to Santa. When he returns in the morning, he will sit in a different place, so the child has to fine him.

On the needles:

This is Firebird by Rosemary (Romi) Hill. The yarn is the yarn I got from Ann Swanson's stash sale at Vesterheim last month. For some reason this shawl has given me lots of trouble. I can't seem to count! But it is progressing.

 During the busy Holiday season  this is a fun knit which takes me away from the hectic times (Actually, I haven't even started preparations) to relax and think about the meaning of the season and hopefully to enjoy the days more. It is Lila and Claudine's Advent Scarf for 2012. Each day they send a new stitch and very short meditation. I'm already behind- only 3 days done.

This project is the one that is taking me forever, mainly because I've ripped most of it out twice. The first time was because of a noticeable stripe where I changed balls of yarn. We are told when using hand painted yarn to knit from 2 balls, alternating every 2 rows. But, who am I to follow directions? I had used Malabrigo yarn before and never had any trouble, but this one was very different. I know where I started the new balls, but it is much less noticeable than it was before. The second time I had done something wrong in the pattern because I had 2 extra stitches in one of the fronts. I tried just decreasing them out, but then my stitch count was wrong and one front was smaller than the other. I tried to live with it, but the sweater won out and it was frogged again. This sweater is a good "public" knitting project at this point.