Pacific Cowl and Madelinetosh yarn!

I've now seen and felt Madelinetosh Merino Light yarn for real! I love the complex colours in this hand dyed yarn and it's soft smooth texture. I wanted to use just one skein. I wanted to try out a stitch pattern I've seen in a Japanese knitting book. A Cowl was the perfect project.
This is the cowl just off the needles:

I'm showing a blocking photo. I don't know of another way to block a cowl, so it's blocked double. In the next photo it seems the cowl is narrower at one end, but it's just the distortion of the camera.
The second blocking photo shows more clearly how I placed the pins and used wires on the ends. It took more than the usual 12 hours to dry.

Now, the finished project!  I thoroughly enjoyed every stitch. Oh, I almost forgot to say....This stitch pattern, like many of the patterns in Japanese stitch books has lace work on every row. I'm not really keen on working lace in a purl row. This cowl is knit in the round, so every row is basically a knit row. There are some purl stitches to define the texture, but every row is worked from the front of the work. Yay! No purl rows!

Ceryle's Celtic Quilt

I want to showcase Ceryle's finished quilt top! The strips of bias fabrics are all hand stitched, and it's been amazing watching Ceryle work slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) and steadily on this work of art. In person it looks even more spectacular.
The pattern came in monthly instalments with the fabrics, from The Quilt Basket at Victor Harbor, South Australia. Because Ceryle likes to add her own touch, she designed her own centre square. Well done Ceryle!

Secret Summer Garden Shawl (Rectangle)

Some time ago I designed a triangular shawl with this same pattern, and knit it with a very fine laceweight yarn. I've worn it and worn it. Then I made it with a fingering weight seasilk yarn, and again it's been worn and worn. I had a skein of alpaca laceweight yarn that appealed to me for a rectangular shawl. That's how this shawl came about. I'm writing the pattern which will be ready for testing very soon.
The modelling has been a family affair, with Daina, Betty and Lynn all looking fabulous! Oh, and Jess wanted to do some sniffing too.