Some like it hot

Personally, I can't stand it. It's been so hot here in the Midwest that I just have no desire to do anything including knit. I did get some knitting done yesterday afternoon however during a brief rain shower. I finally finished knitting Sophie. It was my first i-cord experience so I think it could have been better. Here's a pic before felting.



I also knitted another watering can dishcloth. It's such a quick and easy knit. I spend a lot of time reading knitting books and blogs and felt ashamed of my lack of knitting so I cast on this week and finished it up.



I've been looking through knitting books, blogs, and listening to a lot of knitting podcasts lately. I have come to the conclusion that to feel like a real knitter, I knit to make something more complex, more substantial, than washcloths, scarves, and hats. I have decided I want to make a shawl. I have a couple of patterns I really like, one is lace, the Perfect Pie Shawl in Weekend Knitting. I need to decide if I want to try the lace first or the other pattern from Knitting To Go. Of course this means a trip to the LYS to get some yarn either way. It seems like everyone is knitting lace this summer so I thought about getting on the bandwagon but at the same time, I'm afraid it might be too advanced for me right now and I really don't have someone to help me if I get stuck (I'm a visual person so I need a warm body to actually show me how something is done.) I'm also in dire need of a ballwinder (see previous posts for ballwinding disaster at home.) Our knitting group will hopefully start back up after Labor Day, I might wait to start the lace shawl then.