Starflake Shawl Finished

 Hi all -

I hope everyone is doing well! Things are good here. I'm continuing to knit away. I was able to finish my Starflake shawl designed by Stephen West:

Starflake

The knitting is done and the ends are woven in, but I still need to block it. The blocking will open up the decorative holes in the design. As usual with Stephen West designs, this shawl has a bunch of interesting techniques, but was still easy to make because the instructions are so clear. One of my favorite parts is the striped I-cord edging. I think it really highlights the stripes in the rest of the design. I'm really enjoying knitting Stephen West designs and am looking forward to starting another one!

I was also able to finish the knitting on my Bandola designed by Laura Nelkin:

Bandola

This project also still needs to be blocked. It will really blossom with blocking! I'll post pictures of my blocked projects when I get that done, hopefully before my next blog post. 

My final project this time is my Jimmy Beans Wool crochet blanket club project, the Wildflower Crochet Blanket designed by Lena Skvagerson. I received my February installment and was able to finish the blocks last night. Here are February's blocks:

Wildflower Crochet Blanket - block 4

Wildflower Crochet Blanket - block 5

Wildflower Crochet Blanket - block 6

Wildflower Crochet Blanket - center block

I'm really enjoying the variety in this blanket. Block 4 had a stitch I'd never done before - the Backward Single Crochet. The pattern comes with detailed YouTube tutorials for everything so it's easy to figure out what to do. I'm looking forward to receiving the March installment!!

Finally, I thought I'd leave with more pictures of Grace. I've started carrying my new camera with us on every walk. Funny, as expected, I figured out where I'd left my old little camera right after publishing my last post! But I like the new camera with a better zoom and the ability to take action shots more easily, so I don't regret the purchase. Here is Grace on the Ceran St. Vrain trail, near our house:

Grace at Ceran St Vrain

I was happy to be able to get a picture of her when she was still for a short moment! I'm trying to go to this trail more often because we drive to get there even though it's less than a mile away, so hopefully these short drives with fun destinations will help ease her fear of the car. Unfortunately, this trail is difficult in the winter because of the icy spots so we won't be going there often until things start to thaw. But our neighborhood trail, just a short walk from the house, is beautiful, too! Here is a picture of one of our daily views:

I zoomed in on one of the mountain peak because it's so beautiful:

Isn't that incredible (and don't you love the camera zoom)? But on to Grace pictures.... She loves wood, no matter the size. She will bring smaller sticks to me to throw and will pull larger pieces around. I call it "logging." Here's one she was pulling around the other day:

At home I now have logs strewn all around the front porch! I also got an action shot of her running through the snow:

And a cute shot of her snow covered face:

She will miss winter when it's over, but I'm really looking forward to summer and a little relief from trudging through the snow and slipping on the ice! But it sure is beautiful right now!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their winter!

Nancy