FOs and Toads

I have a few FOs (Finished Objects) to show off. These are projects I've finished since mid-April.

To start off, here's another scarf for OFA's Red Scarf Project. Nothing fancy - just seed stitch. Very pleasant knitting! The yarn is Patons Classic Wool, in the color Cognac Heather.

I bought this yarn (Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool Quarters, in the color Clearwater) several years ago, when I stumbled across a yarn store in Toledo, going out of business and selling everything at 40% off. The skein sat in my stash for a while, but I finally knit it up into Susan Lawrence's Forest Canopy Shawl. It is a small shawl, but should serve to ward off air conditioning chill. (I gave it away, so of course it will ward off someone else's AC chill.) It was my first "real" lace project, and I confess that I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (and it was great fun to knit).

Here is another of Ysolda Teague's Elijah the Elephant, knit with Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk Hand Paint. I use about 1/2 skein for each elephant; this finished my skein in the color Four Elements.

This Elijah is made with the same yarn, but in the color Apple Tree green (I love the names of these colorways!)

Mittens without thumbs...

And with thumbs

This hat and mittens will be donated to Seita Scholars (there's a scarf in the works also). You can read about the Seita Scholars here. The hat is pretty basic stockinette, with standard decreases at the top. I  knit a facing, so, if the brim is rolled up, there are four thicknesses of yarn; the ears should be toasty warm! The mittens are from Ann Budd's book, The Knitter's Handy Book of  Patterns.

No, I didn't knit this fellow. He's just one of the many toads that live in our window well. Last year, I counted 10 toads one day.

I really would like to bid adieu to these fellows, but I'm not sure how to go about it! I'd like to clean the leaves out of those wells, but I confess to an irrational fear of being startled by toads suddenly leaping about...