Question for Knitters/Crocheters

So here's a list of questions I saw posted on the CanaryKnits group discussion board on Ravelry which I thought were interesting to see responses too. Feel free to contribute here with your answers to the questions.

1. Are you always happy with your FO’s?
Mostly yes. Sometimes I might be disappointed but when I wear the FO, I realise that it wasn’t so bad after all! Sometimes I realise that the style of the FO is not for me so I won’t be as happy and I don’t know what to do with them.

2. Are you sometimes so disappointed that you frog everything and start a new project?
I never frog FOs or ones close to completion.

3. Do you wear your knits or do they end up at the bottom of a cupboard? If so, why?
I wear the ones I like and I don’t wear the ones that didn’t turn out as I hoped. Most knits that I give away tend to be things I intended to give away right from the beginning (before I start the knit) so things which I am disappointed in just languish rather than get given away after they are completed.

4. Do you always make a swatch?
Depends what I am knitting and for who. If it is a shawl, I don’t bother so much, especially if it’s a garter tab start since, if I don’t like the fabric, I can just rip it out and restart and it would be about the same effort as a swatch. If it is for someone else, I tend to be a bit more fussy with the swatching and making sure the fabric is ok for the yarn. I tend to swatch for fitted garments but I don’t wash the swatch or cast off, I just rip it out and knit with it when I’m happy.

5. Would you rather work with some yarns you know well rather than others to avoid bad surprises?
No, I knit with all different yarn.

Hanami for Evelyn

I've been knitting a Hanami Stole for Evelynkl7. This one took me a while as it was done in two ply lace. I've dated it as taking two months from start to finish but in that time I wasn't working soley on this. The yarn was supplied by Evelyn and it is Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Lace. It is in the colourway "Sugar sand" which is an appropriate name as it does look like sand. At first the colour looks just like a yellowish beige colour, but when you look closely, it is actually a combination of very light blues, yellows, oranges, greys and creams. It is 100% baby alpaca - very soft but it sheds!

I thoroughly enjoyed making this shawl. It has been on my wishlist since forever. I added beads throughout the cherry blossom section as well as on the cast on edge. The beads are Mill Hill size 8 glass beads with a silver lining. I used two packs of these. The trouble with beads though is that they always seem to get knocked over so I'm pretty sure I lost quite a few. As "payment", I received the same yarn and beads (which I used for this shawl anyway!)