Birch suspense continues...
Saturday morning:
I've used 51% of the yarn. 
And I've knit 51% of the shawl. Yay!
Monday morning:
I've used 74% of the yarn.
I've knitted 76% of the shawl. Woo hoo!
Here's what it looks like to far: 
Note #1: The 2 mugs are used as weights as this *&%^$#@ plastic cord will not lay flat. I'm using Crystal Palace US4 needles, and I did dunk the cord in boiling water to straighten it just before casting on. In my experience, this keeps the cord flat for a few hours, but inevitably, the cord goes back to its coiled state... Why?! Any tricks out there?
Note #2: I'm obsessed with Birch and have not been knitting much on the Phildar Cabled Cardi (that's the back you see in the photo). The Phildar Rivage yarn is murder: flat synthetic ribbon, no stretch whatsoever so it hurts my hands. But it's so pretty!
Note #3: Yes, I could've knit Kiri instead of Birch and avoided all the headaches: with Kiri, you just bind off when you run out of yarn. Although both shawls are composed of the same little leaves, there are crucial stylistic differences. Birch is made in one "block" so the leaves are lined up throughout, whereas Kiri has a middle yo-k1-yo "seam" which makes the leaves form a V. Also, Birch has straight edges, whereas Kiri has scalloped edges. In my opinion, Kiri is a more traditional-looking shawl, and Birch much more modern. Finally, I have to confess that I usually have more energy at the beginning of a project, and progressively run out of steam. This means that the Birch design is perfect for me: it starts with really long rows and ends with much shorter rows. So just as I'm sick of the pattern, the rows shrink!
Note #4: There is not a single store in Manhattan which carries Rowan's All Season Cotton. I've checked The Yarn Connection, The Yarn Company, Downtown Yarns, Seaport Yarn, Knit NY, Purl, even the dreaded Stitches East. Last year, Brooklyn General carried it, but I couldn't go there saturday and they are closed on sundays. (A little more whine: I shlepped all the way to The Yarn Tree yesterday, and they were closed, even though their website says they're open on sundays! Boo!).
