Non-deadline knitting

On Monday I finished two deadlines. They were supposed to be my last deadline projects this month. But also on Monday, a box of yarn turned up for a design whose deadline was 2 weeks ago. We thought the yarn had gotten lost somewhere over the Atlantic and had started trying to source alternative yarn. I was very relieve it turned up. It's a type of yarn I rarely knit with. I usually use yarns that require 4mm needles or smaller. This morning I had to hunt for a set of 10mm needles! I did find them eventually.

I did allow myself a couple of days of non-deadline knitting though and I've really enjoyed it. First I decided to finish off a shawlette which has been on the needles since we were in Barcelona last summer:

Okay, so that photo is taken at the airport and could have been taken anywere. I do have one of me holding this project in front of a famous cathedral in Barcelona but I look absolutely awful!

It hasn't been blocked yet and at the moment looks a bit like a dish cloth. I hope it'll improve when it's blocked tomorrow.

Anyway it's a triangular shawl and as I finished it I started wondering what it would look like if i knitted it as a half-circular shawlette. I had a skein of gorgeous Supreme Sock that I'd been lusting after since Wonderwool. I decided to use Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi shawl formula to turn this design into a semi-pi shawlette:

I had a few false starts. I ripped back quite a few times and working out the stitch count and getting it to work out for the pattern rows after each increase was much more complicated than on a triangular or halfhexagon shawl. but I want to design a bigger laceweight pi or half-pi shawl so I thought this was good practice. After thinking I was on the right track I decided adding beads to the increase rows would be nice. So I ripped back for a final time. I've actually got quite a bit further than the pic now. I'll try and get a 'pinned out' pic tomorrow so you can see it more clearly. Also the colour of the yarn is not quite right in that photo.

I've been doing some spinning too. I'm still enjoying my camel/silk fibre although I've not spun much more:

Another pretty Sweet Georgia Fiber club parcel arrived although I didn't like this colourway quite as much. I've not taken photos yet either. Talking of Sweet Georgia fibre. I've just plied my pink/purple singles.  Letting them rest for a week made plying much easier. I'll share pics after the yarn was had a wash. I'm hoping it'll be about sock weight. I'd like to knit a small shawlette with it. Perhaps another triangular Simplicity.

I also want to spin the blue Sweet Georgia March club fibre. Emily likes it and i'm thinking of knitting her another hat with it.

With all those plans, guess what I'll be doing a lot of this weekend? Yes, spinning. Hopefully in the garden. The weather this week has been amazing. I've tried to sit outside a bit every day to make the most of it. It's proper summer temperatures and it's supposed to stay for the weekend.

it's late and I'm tired and i've got silk dyeing tomorrow. Better go to bed.  Next time crochet news and spinning pics. Nite x