More patterns to test with such little time...

It's been another busy week and I found a new pattern to test. Less than three weeks to do a mosaic shawl. I always love a challenge. I've made decent progress, but the next few weeks will likely make things more difficult.

This lovely pattern is from Knit3Together and she's planning to have it out by May 24. I'm using the lovely yarn from my LYS purchase. The contrast is lovely and I like the subtle shifts between green and blue. It's also awesome that my colors are very different from the others in the group. I'm also signed up for pattern that will launch for testing with this test needs to be completed. I can't wait to knit with that yarn...it looks so lovely. The size I will be testing will be 6-8 and I've asked my 8 year old to mode them. I'm hoping there will be enough yarn left from the same skein for a pair for me :).

I started the backs of the log cabin cardigans last week and here is my progress. The test for both my pattern and the shawl above are definitely going to slow me down on these lovelies, but it was nice to get things moving and formulate my overall idea for color. These could be great for  my meetings and continuing education. The shaping is none existent, so I just need to have the yarn on hand for the next section.

I'm making another revision to my pattern and I wanted to thank my testers. I have a fantastic picture of Cathie who finished a version in yellow. She had the idea to use a reverse single crochet for the border and I must say that it looks great.

I'm working on a coral version (the color is called "Conch" by the yarn company) of my simple scarf design and I was so happy to find out that I could get 46 inches out of one skein using a 5.0 mm hook. In less than 200 g of worsted weight yarn you can get a nice warm scarf/hug with edging. I'm planning to have the pattern posted by May 15. That will give me another weekend to work and hopefully track down my model. Worst case scenario...I'll have my kids as models. They're not always the best at taking my direction.

We're getting ever closer to mother's day and I was excited to find something to send my mom. I bought her tulip bulbs from the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm a few years ago and now that there is a new house it seems like a nice gift again. My mom is a big fan of black flowers. That might sound strange, but they are breathtaking and unique. This is one of the tulips I've chosen. It's a double tulip, which means it is fuller. This is one of the farm's images of Black Hero. I want a garden too!

Tomorrow is the last day of the local annual Tulip Festival. Where did the time go? A mother's day brunch is being hosted next weekend at the tulip farm. It's not part of my plans, but might be nice for the other moms out there.

Happy happy crafting and best wishes for a great week.