Goodness, it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. And today would most likely be another no-blogging day, except I have a tiny case of finishitis. (You know, the complement to startitis. It happens, sometimes.) So let’s play catch-up.

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February was a big month for traveling. It started with the Visionary Authors retreat – always a productive week, even if it’s exhausting. Here’s tangible proof of productivity:

It’s the felted laptop cover that I started aeons ago. I felted and trimmed it to size just before the trip, and sewed it up on the first morning of the retreat. I’m quite pleased with the results. It does a nice job of protecting my beloved MacBook Air as it travels with me to teaching gigs. And the cable turned out okay too.

I started a project at the retreat too. More on that later.

From the Visionary Authors retreat, it was straight to Madrona. Oh, how I goofed there. Yes, I had the good fortune to take a photography class from Franklin Habit. Yes, I enjoyed teaching several classes of my own, including mini versions of Cast-on Cornucopia and Disaster Recovery. Yes, I took part in the Teacher Talent Show. But I didn’t have the good sense to build any down-time into my schedule. No time to hang out in the Rotunda, minimal time to scope out the Marketplace. sigh. Next time, I promise I’ll do better.

After Madrona, I had a brief couple days at home before Stitches West… always a fun event. I’m already looking forward to Stitches South, just a few weeks away.

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Speaking of Stitches South… April is going to be much like February, with three trips in a row, boom boom boom! Stitches South in Atlanta, the Loopy Ewe Spring Fling in Loveland, CO, and Yarnover in Minneapolis. Whew! I better get my travel knitting in order.

And then? Ditto October: I’m teaching for the Rochester Knitting Guild and the Knitting Guild of Greater Buffalo before heading to Rhinebeck. I’m not sure why the majority of my travel this year is getting bunched up into just three months. At least that last trip will only involve flying out and back just once.

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And now for the project that got today’s case of finishitis rolling, the project I started at the Visionary Authors retreat and for which I finished writing the pattern this morning: the Daphne shawl.

The photo really does not do the shawl justice. Knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts® Luscious Silk in the Cozy Fierce and Dirty Orange colorway, the shawl practically glows. The yarn was an absolute delight to work with.

And I had fun with the pattern too. As is my preference, I knit it from the top down in three wedges.

Why three wedges and not the usual two, you may ask? Because three wedges let the shawl drape more easily over your shoulders. And the bottom of the shawl is a horizontal line, not a tip that points directly at your butt and that you often end up sitting on.

I love love love how the stitch patterns worked out:

Twig – a traditional Estonian pattern, and a close relative of Vine Stripe from Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns – flows directly into Leaf Lace, which blends beautifully with a simple scalloped Edging. Leaf Lace, as it turns out, is another traditional Estonian pattern, but I pulled it and the Edging from Evelyn Clark’s wonderful Knitting Lace Triangles.

Here’s one last shot of Daphne:

Daphne is slated for publication in Dreaming of Shetland, an ebook due out in May. Proceeds will fund Deb Robson’s explorations of Shetland sheep and wool. Wanna know more? Sign up to receive email updates.

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And that brings this blog mostly up to date, I think. More news flashes as events warrant… say, when I figure out what next month’s travel knitting is going to be.

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