Too hot to blahhg

I'm in B.C., and it is HOT out here. Too hot to knit, but there are plenty of other distractions: peaches, cherries, apricots, raspberries, etc. It's a tasty, tasty heat.

How about showing some knits from the past few months? A quick parade of highlights:

1. Kingscot cardigan.


I love, love, love this cardigan, and I'm looking forward to wearing it in the fall. From the moment I saw it as a Twist preview, I loved this design. I followed Norah Gaughan's pattern to the letter (other than putting buttons all the way down the front), and it turned out perfectly. The yarn is Rowan Pure Wool DK -- an expensive splurge for me, but I loved working with it and I love the results. (Ravelry link)

2. Leafy Medallions shawl.


This was a quick shawl; I needed a lace fix. I used Evelyn Clark's book (Knitting Lace Triangles): 10 repeats of the Leaf Lace chart, and then 3 repeats of Medallion Lace before the edging. The yarn is Spirit Trail Lachesis -- a purchase from Rhinebeck last fall. It's 100% alpaca, but I found it slightly wiry. I didn't love knitting it, but it did block nicely; it's the thinnest laceweight I've used, so the resulting shawl is very delicate and airy. (Rav link)

3. Zetor shawl.


This is the last thing I finished, just a few weeks ago. Another case of simple pattern + yarn I didn't really enjoy = pretty results. The yarn is One of a Kind Lace Solid -- a wool/angora/nylon blend with no elasticity or shine. I do love the colour, though. (Rav link)

4. Portland pullover.


I'm not sure yet whether this is finished. (I have it "hibernating" in Ravelry.) I mistakenly knit an extra repeat into the body, resulting in an unflattering length. I'm not sure whether I'll keep it as just a warm sweater, or if I'll do some altering to shorten it -- I guess it will depend on whether I find myself wearing it or not. It did turn out beautifully; I'm very pleased with my finishing. I enjoyed knitting this. It seemed to go quite quickly. It probably took as long to sew the pieces together as it did to knit them. (Rav link)

At the moment, I'm knitting a Mountain Peaks shawl -- or, I would be if it wasn't so HOT. I chose this shawl because I wanted a lace challenge, and most of Mountain Peaks has lace patterning on both the right and wrong sides. It's been slow going, but before my holiday I finished Chart 1 -- and not a moment too soon. I was definitely getting tired of p2togtbl....