I'm at the point on this that I either have to tell the birthday girl it is for her so that I can measure the straps or I wrap it up the way it is and she'll have to wait after she recieves the gift for me to finish it and block the piece. I'm leaning toward telling her now so that it will be ready to wear on her birthday.

In excitement that I've put it down for the moment, I have attempted my first double point needle project - this. I feel very clumsy tring to manage 4 needles at once; twice I've pulled a needle all the way out of the stitches and twice I've continued knitting with the same needle and discarded a needle. At least both are easy mistakes to rectify.

I'm also working on an alpaca shawl. It's a lovely and easy pattern of 5 rows of knit and one of purl using two sizes of needles. I love how the size changes but the shape is the same so that it could be so many things depending on when bind off is done. Right now it would be a good teddt bear shawl or a head scarf ala Sound of Music.