Knitting projects: a sweater and shawl

I've hit a wall with completing a few knitting projects (though it hasn't stopped me from buying yarn) so I thought a public posting would improve motivation.

This is another version of the Rebecca sweater but in black. But it's been a few years since I've worked on an adult sweater and I'm forgetting details here and there ("oops, forgot the neck shaping"). Anyways, I can't seem to start the sleeves. I prefer knitting them from the top down and the thought of picking up stitches and calculating my decreases is paralyzing. I've done it many times, I just don't want to! This is where following someone's pattern is so useful...Does black ever photograph well? It's the discontinued Katia Pisco, a nice cotton/acrylic/linen blend.

This the Flower Market Shawl after the first chart. Webs claims this lambswool/alpaca blend is sportweight, but it's more like fingering.It travels everywhere with me, but no knitting is ever done...

We'll be on a long road trip next week, so maybe some knitting will finally be done!