Frost and Flowers

I've discovered a new productive use for the blazing sun that comes pouring through my office window midday - pictures of WIPs! I have been desperate for some daylight pictures after finding my sunny apartment is not sufficiently sunny to produce good knitting pics. I now have new appreciation for the beautiful shots of knitted goodness out there (BrooklynTweed, how do you do it?!). I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it.

After endless gray stockinette on my shawl collar sweater, my hands were longing for some lace (look away from that other half-finished lace shawl on the shelf... nothing to see there...).

Let's start with the yarn: 100% cashmere deliciousness from Hunt Valley Cashmere in Baltimore, Maryland. I discovered Hunt Valley Cashmere at Stitches East last year, when I purchased a gorgeous plum laceweight yarn in a shawl kit. The shawl pattern got the boot and the yarn became a flower basket shawl (pictures of that at some point, I hope). This stuff is hard to come by - the proprietor doesn't have a website or catalog, but you can find her by email. The yarn is soft, beautifully spun and totally affordable for such quality. I love it!

I got a kit for a frost and flowers lace shawl in an earthy oatmeal color. It's really going to be more of a wide scarf than a shawl, which I plan to snuggle around my neck for lightweight warmth.

Right now I'm only 1-1/2 repeats in, but with this yarn I'm perfectly happy to have more knitting ahead of me than behind me.