Irish Hiking Scarf progress

I've been working on my first IHS for about two weeks now. I'm really enjoying working with cables again, and working with a heavy worsted weight it is easy to do one or two pattern reps in a very short amount of time. After doing so much lace knitting lately, a quick satisfying project like this is just what I needed. It measures 20" so far, and I love the way it is turning out with this yarn (Lion Brand Lion Cashmere Blend).

Birch

Pattern: Birch from Rowan No 34
Yarn: Kid Silk Haze - Cream - 4 balls
Needles: Denise size 8's

The reason why I haven't posted in so long is that for months I was chipping away at Birch, which was a birthday/wedding present for my mom. I gave it to her on her birthday, and just blocked it this past week. As I type it is on its way to Alaska where she will be wearing it when she gets married.



I thoroughly enjoyed knitting Birch. The pattern is quite easy to remember and, although repetitive, I love it's simplicity. I now understand "kid silk crack." This yarn is so soft and ethereal, makes a gorgeous transparent fabric and is incredibly enjoyable to knit with. It is a bit of a pain to rip back, I made few mistakes, but found them easy to fix by laying the shawl flat and ripping out rows when necessary. The stitches grasp onto each other and when ripped the stitches on the previous row stay in place well making it easy to reinsert the needle.

It's been a while since I last posted, but I've finally been getting some knitting in and will be posting the photos to prove it in the next few days. I've had a couple of projects on the needles lately, including a cream colored Birch which I made for my mom as a birthday/wedding present as she's getting married July third. It's being blocked as I type and I plan to take pictures in a few days. I've also been working on an Irish Hiking Scarf which is going so fast and is a nice change from all of the lace I've been doing lately. I'll have pictures of everything soon!