Birch!
I hereby present to you.... Birch! (and a new haircut, courtesy of Vidal Sassoon). 
Project specs:
Birch, from Rowan 34
Yarn: Habu Mohair/Silk in charcoal. Let me end the will-she-have-enough-yarn suspense right here: it turns out that 2 oz is plenty for a shawl. I actually have yarn left over. Now please stop laughing.
Needles: US 4, 35" Crystal Palace bamboo. (I know I've complained about these needles before: the coily cable, the large joins and the splitty bamboo come to mind, and yet, I keep on using them: they are the perfect size for shawls. I need to get my hands on some US 4 29" Bryspuns!).
Started: Hmm, I remember ripping my first attempt on US 7s when Lisa's mom was visiting, March 31st. I tried again on US6s, and ripped it again. At that point, I was digusted at myself for perpetually choosing projects with gauge issues (Rapunzel anyone?) and gave it a rest. So I think I really started on April 6th or 7th.
Finished: April 18th, while thinking of Sassy and Sassy Baby.
Let me tell you, this is pretty intense knitting. I knit in the morning before going to work, I knit during lunch, and I basically did not go out because I just wanted to go home and knit on Birch every evening. It is that addicting. That being said, I still cannot believe that Angela knit hers in 10 days. 10 days?! Damn.
It wasn't until I was done that I found Mason Dixon's "Top 10 Things to Remember While Knitting Birch". Damn. It turns out that I only followed (unwittingly) one of these tips: #2.
(Note: Can you see the construction on FDR Drive at the bottom of the first picture? They've demolished and been re-building the 61st St access ramp since May 2005. It will open this monday, so the construction team has been working themselves to a frenzy. Construction begins at 2am. Except last night, when they started at 1:43am. Or you could avert your eyes from the construction and admire a little piece of the 59th St bridge and the flowering trees on the -now tramless- Roosevelt Island).
