WIP Wednesday: Shawl Progress

I've been spending lots of time working on the Mystic Star shawl.  I'm to the last section of it.  576 stitches around.  The chart for this part is 48 stitches wide and covers over 70 rows, even rows not being show since they're just knit.

Here it is on the needles.  I tried to spread out the middle so you can see the pattern at the center.

And here's part of the section of just finished spread out a bit.

I've been enjoying working on it and the cat seems to like it as well.  One knit while I was trying to knit Lindy jumped up onto my lap and curled up on the shawl and then shoved her nose into and fell asleep.  It was very cute.

The stitch markers I was using for the shawl were annoying me.  The yarn kept getting snagged on them so my mom was nice enough to make me some out some stone beads a got some time ago.

There's four round ones and four tear drop shaped ones.  I looked them up and they're synthetic blue malachite that's been dyed, or something like that.  Not something that occurs naturally.

The other project I've been working on this week is a crocheted stegosaurus.

That's the head there on the pattern.  It should be adorable when it's done.  Don't know what color it's spikes are going to be yet.  I'll have to look in my stash for something that would look good, or find something at the next Knit Wits meeting.

I've also been working on the hoodie for myself.  It's been my social knitting so not much work is getting done on it but I just might have the back done before the end of the month.

Spring has been just wonderful.  The flowering plum and the wild plum have been absolutely gorgeous this year.  We did get some really cold nights over the weekend, freezing the bleeding heart and the lilacs.  One lilac is not going to bloom this year but the other too will.  The freezing coincided with my mom buying plants for the deck, of course.  Again this year she put Dahlia's in the boxes around the deck.  They were gorgeous last year and the Moose didn't eat them.  Here's some pictures of my favorites.

 I spent several hours out on the deck enjoying the sunshine, gorgeous flowers, and hummingbirds that were coming to the feeder.  Lindy joined me this afternoon and I got some nice pictures of her.

Hey mom!

Snoozing