Toy Knitting MOJO!

I always lose my knitting mojo when the weather gets nice. Sure, I may still knit here and there, but the days of hunkering down with some tea and knitting are gone. That being said, I'm trying to curb that from happening this year, as I've got a lot of stash to get through. So I decided to go out on a limb and knit my very first toy. It's the Dandy Sir Cephalopod pattern, and it's been keeping me busy! I'm almost done (probably will finish up tonight, actually), but it's been a lot of fun. No pictures yet, as it's all just kind of parts and pieces until he's finished. I got my mustache buttons in the mail yesterday, and I had to RE-ORDER stupid safety eyes because I lost my last pack somewhere in my craft room.
The other thing I've been working on lately is a pair of hand dyed socks for my friend Janice's birthday. I started these at the beginning of April and have the first sock finished. Haven't started the second sock, but my deadline is end of June, as her birthday is the beginning of July. Here is an in progress pic from a month ago:

They're kind of ugly, but I love it, and I think she will as well. Knitting them to fit a size US 8 women's. I've totally lost my sock mojo, so I need to focus and force myself to get through the second sock.
Now, onto a few FO pictures. First up, another mitered hanging towel AND a fish tawashi, knit for my childhood friend that I traded crafts with (she did an AMAZING cross stitch for me). These mitered towels are really easy to make and only take about 6-8 hours to finish. The tawashi was new for me, but fun and simple as well.

And now.. for something I'm really excited and proud to show.. my finished Multnomah! I posted a WIP pic in my last entry, but finished it up mid-April and wow. So exciting. So beautiful. My first me-shawl!

I learned so much making this shawl. I learned about lace pattern knitting, about the importance of accuracy, about bind off edges, about my own personal tastes, etc. It looks a little wonky in this picture, because it's on the grass, but it's stellar in person. I ended up with 11 repeats of the F&F, and after the BO, only had a few yards left of yarn.

The color repeats of the Noro are just so gorgeous. Surprisingly, this was my first time working with Noro Kureyon Sock, despite me hoarding like 4-5 more skeins of it over the years. I will definitely use it again, but I think in the future I'll combine it with another yarn to get more yardage out of it. Apparently 460ish yards isn't enough yardage, as I feel it's a little small. Perfect for a shawlette/scarflette, but it barely stays if I wrap it around my shoulders. I am considering options for my next shawl, which I probably won't start until the Fall.

Well that's it for now! Hopefully I'll have some more FO pictures to share in the next few weeks, as I finish up my octopus toy and those socks. :)