Awfully proud

That's us. Yarn goes out of the shop in big quantities and small, in balls, in hanks, in bags. Seeing what it becomes makes us happier than you can imagine. Sometimes we get to see finished articles in solid form. The yarn comes back to visit us in the shop, all grown up into jumpers and socks and all manner of things. More often, though, we get to see it online. In a way that's even better, because whether on a personal blog or on Ravelry, the entire world can admire what our customers do with what we sell. There's a bi-monthly thread in the This Is Knit Ravelry group called the FO Parade. You'll find it at the top of the threads, and it is packed with pictures of lovely things. We've got a few from recent months to show you here, all photographed by their makers, but there's lots more over there. First, there's this beauty, knitted by deimne in Hedgehog Fibres Cashmere Lace. You can read more about this shawl both in her Ravelry page and on her blog here (it's worth a visit for the photography, too!). The pattern is Elizabeth Freeman's Aeolian, a free pattern from Knitty a few issues back. It comes in a number of sizes and either with or without beads, and it's surprisingly easy to knit if you have any lace experience at all. Continuing a recent baby trend, here's a beautiful blanket knitted by clareblove from a Debbie Bliss pattern. Each square has a little motif inside: hearts and boats and rocking horses and chicks. It's adorable. Made from Eco Cotton, it's also practical. Another satisfied customer recently posted several pairs of Susie's Reading Mitts, including these, which she photographed with an original copy of Soundings (how the memories flood back...). You'll find a link to the free pattern at this Ravelry link. It's designed for DK but is easily modded for other weights of yarn. Finally, under the "all manner of things" mentioned above, we recently made the acquaintance of Louis the Gargoyle. From the camera, it would appear that he's taking after his creator, Julie, whose breathtaking blog you can see here. She found the pattern on Ravelry at this page and he took less than a ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. There's lots more inspiration in the FO parade threads, so why not take a look? We have a favour to ask you, though: would you post pictures of your own lovely projects there so we can all admire them? Nothing makes us prouder than seeing what happens next. And there's prizes. Did we mention prizes?