Two more projects off my "to-do" list

I've been flying, that is, working a lot lately.  My trips have all had a 3-4 hour layover somewhere, so I get myself a sandwich or something to eat and then go find the gate for my flight and sit and knit.  The lighting is better in the concourse than it is in the crew lounge, and the people watching makes having to sit in public with the passengers all worth while.  I finished a couple of projects this week and got ends woven in and them washed and dried so I could photograph them. 

The project to the right is called "Wingspan" and it is something that I just started recently (so it doesn't qualify for being a long-term unfinished project), but I'd been wanting to make one of these since I saw the pattern pop up on Ravelry.  This was a big trending pattern (12,000+ downloads so far) especially this spring, and I finally got the yarn and got around to getting mine done.  It was a very quick knit, and took all of 10 days total to make.  I used a size 7 needle and Noro Silk garden Sock yarn, 2 skeins.  I added one extra triangle since I wanted it to be very cozy, it's a perfect size to cover my shoulders when I wear a summer top or sundress.  I think it came out nicely.  It is still wet in this picture, the actual colors are a tad lighter and brighter when it is dry.

This is the kind of project that I could actually see myself making another copy of.  That's very unusual for me, I usually only want to make one item using a pattern so that I keep doing new things and learning new skills.

I also got out a very old project that had been in the back of my car for a couple of years, I was so bored with all the straight stitches on huge needles that felt like trees to me that I really didn't want to work on it..  I started that project when we had only been reenacting for a year or so.  I had made a triangle shawl before reenacting and wore it to an event before I realized that it was much too small to be accurate for the era.  This one is much larger, and though it looks like lace, it's just a simple garter stitch done on a big (size 13) needle.  The yarn is all handspun, and the fringe took me nearly a day to complete. 

I still have more research to do to see if this would be accurate for Civil War reenacting wear (that is, did the people of the era really wear shawls like this during their time?) before I wear it to most events.  True, there are plenty of people that just put things on and figure those items "look" old but what they're wearing is inappropriate for the era.  The term that reenactors use for people wearing things that didn't exist or were the wrong material, pattern, etc. for the era is "Farby".  There is a lot of "Farby" in the reenacting community, but I pride myself by improving the accuracy of my impression as much as I can every chance I get.  Everyone learns as they go, and I wore some Farby things as a newcomer to the hobby.

I'm on to the next project...now I'm making the Color Affection shawl and February Lady sweater.   The sweater is using up yarn from a horrible attempt at making a sweater for hubby some years ago, the shawl yarn is from my stash.  It'll take awhile to clear out the bin of unfinished projects, but I have until August 13 before I go back to school to work on it. :)