Cherries, Cherries

Getting more and more blossoms as I go...

My plan for this week is to do charts E and F. I'll start chart G on Friday, do the ruffle then proceed with picking up at the middle and starting Chart A again. That's the current working plan.

Progress

Well, I finally figured out how to get the pictures here, so, here's my progress so far, at week 2. It's looking good, if I do say so myself.

Week Three

You guessed it! Two more repeats of the Basketweave Pattern. Here's my Hanami.

I'll be glad when we can move on. This Basketweave section is starting to wear on me. I'm really looking forward to the blossoms.

Happy Knitting!

J.

One down, one to go...

Well, the ole' elbow is still a little disgruntled, but I have definitely moved beyond those four measly cast-on rows I had last time I checked in...



I've done about two and a half repeats on the blossoms-only version. I'm using Misti Alpaca laceweight in a dusky, rosy shade, and I'm making this Hanami for my sister. She used to teach in Japan and has something of a cherry-blossom infatuation at the moment. Ironically, she's been knitting much longer than I have, but can't make this for herself because she has carpal tunnel. All the more reason for me to baby my inflamed nerves!

I finally got a chance to take some decent pictures of the Hanami I finished for myself. I finished knitting and blocked it in late August, but somehow camera, stole, and sunlight didn't converge until this evening.



There's a teaser picture -- gratuitous yarn porn! I've put several more pictures in the Flickr pool and there are many, many others in my own photostream.

Happy knitting, all!

progress pictures! Even an action shot!

I have been wanting to take progress pictures for a couple of days now but I tend to put things like that off. No more! One kinda blurry picture. Fino Alpaca With a Twist yarn, just finished Chart C.

And one more, this time the promised action shot!

Finished/Thank You

I've finished my Hanami. I used Handmaiden Sea Silk in Pumpkin on size 3 needles. I'm so pleased with how it turned out, but these pictures really don't do it justice
I wanted to share why I chose this pattern, aside from the fact that it's just beautiful. I had a miscarriage on Mother's Day of this year, and even though I got pregnant again quickly (and this time things seem to be going just fine), it hit me harder than I ever thought such a thing could. I found that doing things with my hands really made me feel better. I spent the whole weekend after it happened gardening. Then I thought of the prayer shawls that I heard about people knitting for others, where they prayed good thoughts into every stitch they knit. I liked that idea and wanted to do that for myself. When I saw this pattern, I knew this is what I needed to knit, with it's symbolism of friendship and spring, which for me means rebirth. I tried 2 other yarns before I found this yarn in Portland, OR (which is ironic because that's where I was coming from when the miscarriage started) and knew it was just right. I have to say that this was probably the most enjoyable thing I've ever knit and gave me a lot of pleasure while making it. Thanks for the perfect pattern, Melanie.

Done!

I did start a few days early and only had this on the needles so I am done.

I did add extra beads, extra repeats and less of chart G. It was a fun knit and I can not wait until the weather cools off so I can actually wear it.