Brainwave, and a finished shawl.

I just had a brainwave - I have 2200 yards of Madeline Tosh Merino Light in a lovely purple in my stash. I think it would be perfect for the Dockside Cardigan. I was planning on making something else with it, a pullover, I think...ah, yes, Olive. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. The Madeline Tosh is a singles yarn, while the Heritage is plied, and if I'm going to wear the cardigan a lot, I may want to go with the plied so it doesn't pill and show as much wear... I'm also thinking that the Heritage would lend a little more structure, which a curved piece like this needs. So yes, Heritage it is, I think. In one of the purples. Your comments were so helpful - thank you so much!

On to a finished knit. I finished this one a few months ago and never got around to blocking it. Really, it just looked like a wadded up piece of ick. But then it hit the water and BAM, did it grow.

This is Flamboyan, by Stephen West. I had hoped it would be a more interesting knit, but once you get to row kabillion and knit knit knit and then switch colors and purl purl purl, it's a little much. The ribbing at the bottom was particularly painful, especially when I had to rip back a few rows because I was going to run out of yarn for binding off. All that said, I think it turned out very nicely, and my mom seems to love it.

I wasn't quite sure how to block it - there weren't any instructions on that - so I went with a Farasoe shape (so it would rest nicely on the shoulders). This way, I was able to use my blocking board so that the point was at the short side, and then the shoulder pieces were able to go the entire length of the board. She can wear it as a shawl or as a scarf, which is great. I do love making shawls, but I'm not much for wearing them, so I'm glad my mom likes them.

By the way, I used Sundara superwash sock in Brambleberry (the brown) and Roasted Persimmon over Green Apple (the red). I have 1/5 of the red left, and used all the brown. I really like Sundara's colors (I got these through the Seasons club a few years ago), and they didn't bleed at all during the soaking. The price tag is a little too much for me - it's not the be-all, end-all yarn for me - so I probably won't be buying any more unless I see a great deal in someone's stash. I do, however, have enough Aran Silky Merino to make a Lady February...