An FO and a WIP Round-up

Why is it that when we're working, the days take forever to end, but when we're on vacation, they fly by? I suppose we didn't help things by arriving on a Monday evening, but we're already at the end of our first on vacation. It's been delightful so far, as it always is, but also gone by so quickly. We have not done much that's exciting, as per usual -- just sleeping in, taking time to savor our morning coffee, exercising, reading, and relaxing. And, in my case, knitting, naturally.

Yesterday I finished a longtime WIP; according to my Ravelry project page, I cast it on way back on May 3.

This is, of course, an upsized Hitchhiker (I completed 62 points rather than the called-for 42). The yarn is a skein of handspun that Rainbow selected from my stash, a luxurious 2-ply heavy laceweight spun from a blend of South African Superfine merino(?) and Mulberry silk. My goal was to use up as much of the yarn as possible, and this is all that remains -- less than 4 g:

I have woven in the ends but obviously not yet blocked the shawl (I'll do that when we get home), so there are still yarn tails poking out and the bound-off edge is a little wavy because I did a stretchy bind-off. But I suspect Rainbow will not care about either of these things and will be happy to wrap up in her new shawl this weekend, when it's supposed to be cold (well, by southern Florida standards -- low 50s F).

Now that the shawl is finally off the needles, I've got two WIPs to work on for our remainder of our time here. For the plane ride, I took a pair of socks that I'd cast on earlier in the month to have something to do with my hands for the winter concert at Rainbow's school, and I made some decent progress:

Everything from the progress keeper up to the pink stripe I've just completed was done on the trip. These are for Rainbow, and she's requested a not-too-tall leg, so I'll likely be starting the heel soon. The yarn is Knit Picks Felici in the colorway Bebop -- it's one of about eight colorways we bought recently.

And now that the shawl is done, I'm turning my attention back to my Recalibrate. The knitting on it is simple enough that I should, theoretically, be able to get a lot done while we're away. I'm on what I believe is my last stripe for the left front. It's been a while since I was actively working on this project, so I have to check my notes.

I'm extra excited to get this project finished now because last Friday, just before all the bat mitzvah festivities started, I got an email letting me know that my name had been pulled for the SSK 2023 lottery, and Shana (the designer of Recalibrate) is one of the teachers! Shana and I have gotten to be friends online but not met in person, so it'll be great to meet her finally, and of course I'll want to show off my sweater to her.

If you are celebrating Christmas this weekend, I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday celebration! And if you're affected by that massive winter storm, I hope you can stay safe and warm and the power stays on! I'll be back on Monday with my final One Little Word update of the year (how did that happen?!).

Our view of the sunset on the Winter Solstice