Well…. the KAL is underway, and so far so good. It’s landed at 1,590 members – and it’s truly an international group. The first part of the pattern was released on Wednesday, and already a number of pictures are cropping up. They all look wonderful, and I enjoy seeing how differently it looks in the various yarns. So…. keep knitting and posting.
At the moment I’m winding yarn for my next project. I have close to 2,800 yards of laceweight yarn to wind, so it’s taking a while. But it’s a lovely Merino Lace from skacel (1375 yds per 100 g). Maybe I’ll finish winding the yarn this evening so I can cast on the next project. Fingers and mind are itching to get going.
Ravelry is also fun. There are SO many pictures in there, and so many lovely projects. One of the really nifty features (I think) is that you can quickly get a list of all the other people working on a particular project. So, for example, if you’re working on a Lizard Ridge afghan, there are 272 projects listed and you can view all those pictures. Or…. if you’re thinking about casting on for a new shawl, you can see if anyone else has knit it and get an idea of which yarns and colours you like. It’s great fun. Of course, with all these lovely pictures right at your fingertips, it’s hard to be restrained and not start everything you see….
First of all I have to thank all the people who have signed up for the Mystic Waters KAL. I am simply blown away by the response – 790 members right now, and still growing. I’m really looking forward to it starting on October 24, and seeing what the shawl looks like in all these other yarns. So far I’ve been browsing through the swatches, and of course all the messages. It’s really fun to see where everyone is from. There are knitters from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Chech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, UK, Canada, US, India, Saudi Arabia and Australia, to mention some. Amazing!
Sign ups are still open, so if you want to join us, please head over to the yahoo group.
Secondly, I received my SP package yesterday. Many thanks. It contained some lovely Panda licorice, a SPA book and a skein of Misti Alpaca Lace 2-ply. The yarn is wonderfully soft, and I have to say that I am very partial to the natural colour. It also included a suggested lace shawl pattern for a Swallowtail Shawl. The construction of that shawl is really neat.
Finally, I received my long awaited Ravelry invite. I’ve not done much more than sign up, but you can find me there as knitandknag. I did notice that both the Burridge Lake Afghan and the Mystic Waters KAL beat me there though….. so now I have to catch up on what you’ve been saying.
… the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan!
It was a delightful knit and design. I thoroughly enjoyed the process. My afghan was designed to be symmetrical with mirror image panels on the sides and a center panel with mirror image braids on the sides. The edging is also symmetrical.
It also contains a number of different braids, trinity stitch and bobbles. All to minimize the use of the boring stockinette/reverse stockinette stitch. The trinity stitch was particularly enjoyable since it added some work on the WS rows.
The afghan was started at the end of March and completed in the middle of July. It then took a week or so to write up the pattern properly. It’s amazing, but it’s really different to write up a pattern for someone else than to keep notes for myself.
Anyhow, the pattern was submitted to MAGKnits, and as you know by now, accepted for publications. I’m very happy with the result.
First of all, a big thank you to all who have signed up for the Mystic Waters KAL. I’m looking to the start of the KAL. Sign ups are still open, so if you’d like to join us, don’t be shy.
In the meantime, I’m busy working on a couple of secret projects, so I don’t have a lot of pictures to share. I do however have a few new needles, acquired at that grand place called ebay. Four new addi turbo needles in various sizes that will soon be put to good use.
I also have a stash-confession. In spite of my best attempts to keep it down, it just keeps growing. I am however making a dent. Here we have 3 skeins of bulky brown alpaca (warm winter shawl), 1 skein of Blåmussla (lace shawl), 3 skeins of Apple Laine (in Chianti and Sunny Days – planned socks), 3 skeins of Freedom Wool (white/green for my daughters hat), 4 skeins of LANG (green/silver for a Moebius scarf) and 2 skeins of Scheepjes (winter scarf)
There is also my birthday present – Noro Kureyon for the Lizard Ridge Afghan still in progress. I’m almost half done, but it was a little too warm during the summer to knit wool-afghans. I’m thinking it will go faster as the weather cools down.
Finally some odds and ends. Not so photogenic, but I DO have some leftover yarn from various projects. Not sure what to do with them, but I’m sure they will come in handy some day. There is a little bit of Hidden Touch alpaca (from Swan Lake/MS3), some Indigo Apple Laine (from the Falling in Love socks), some Cotton (from when my daughter learned how to crochet), some Aran wool, Scheepjes, and random acrylics. All good to have for knitting dolls, etc.
Well, hope you enjoyed the tour. Come back later and see the yarn turned into something more interesting. Maybe I’ll get started on that Moebius scarf over the weekend…..
Announcing another Mystery Shawl knitalong!
Have you ever found yourself staring into a deep ocean pondering the mysteries beneath the surface?
Or swam in a dark lake at sunset?
Do you feel the lightness of the summer rain?
Water has many forms and faces, and yet they are all the same – simple H2O.
Presented in an original design, this triangular shawl show some of the many faces of water.
My shawl is knit using 200 g of Fårö yarn from Klippan. 100% wool yarn from Bohuslän (600 m per 100 g). The shawl uses approx. 1200 m of yarn. As always, yarn substitutions are encouraged.
SIGN UP FOR LACE KAL
The pattern will be made available for a knitalong, starting October 24.
It will be distributed to the members in eight consecutive pieces, once a week on Wednesdays.
The last part of the pattern will be released on December 12 – so you can complete it before the Christmas festivities.
Please email me if you would like to participate.
There is a separate yahoo group for the KAL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysticwatersKAL/
I have started on the winter knitting. During this past week, I’ve been busy knitting scarves and hats. I only have one picture to show you though. It’s a simple rib-scarf knit in green and white wool from freedom wool (50 m / 50 g) on 7 mm needles. The scarf is for my daughter, and she plans to knit a hat to go with it.
I went yarnshopping with her, and she selected this yarn because it was the softest one she could find. She has good taste.
Additionally I’ve started looking for another lace pattern to knit, but so far nothing has really grabbed my attention. I have a feeling that this will call for an original design, but we’ll see. In the meantime I have installed a true type knitting font, so now I can chart my own lace quite easily.
Well, the summer is officially over, and we’re back in the regular schedule. At least we will be, gradually, over the next few weeks. With the end of summer I bring you two completed projects.
The Faux Russian Stole and Swan Lake Stole (formerly known as MS3) are completed and are blocking. At the moment they are outside in the sun, so they can dry a little faster. They represent my first foray into lace knitting, and I’m pleased with the results. I’ve definitely gotten better at reading lace charts, and all those YOs and k2togs, etc.
The Faux Russian Stole was knit in Arizona Apple Laine yarn. The pattern comes from “A Gathering of Lace” by Meg Swanson.
Project started: June 29
Completed: Aug 28
The Swan Lake stole was knit using Alpaca Sock Yarn from Hidden Touch. It’s charcoal gray, and a little fuzzy. This stole will be nice and warm during the fall. The pattern comes from Melanie of Pink Lemon Twist and was published for the summer Mystery Stole knitalong.
Project started: June 29
Completed: September 3
1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
If I had to pick one, it would be scrap yarn. I use it for all sorts of things – markers, provisional cast-on, …and best of all, if you have a lot of it, it’s no longer scrap but new material for a new project.
2. If you’re heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?
Yes. On my last vacation I took a stole. On the one before that, a pair of socks. To the cottage I tend to take a lot, and usually get a lot done as well.
3. Where have you traveled to that you’d consider your favorite spot?
Impossible to say. I do always feel a sense of homecoming in Bohuslän and love the islands and the sea.
I also think the Rhine and Mosel valleys are wonderful, and the Biergarten in München.
4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
I like the kinds that show you lots of different stitches – like the Harmony Guides. I own the Harmony Guide to Aran Stitches, but there are many others.
I also like A Gathering of Lace, by Meg Swanson, but I don’t own that.
5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
Nope.
6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
I don’t imagine this will ever happen….. but I guess I would pick something neutral, like cream colour.
7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
It depends on what the mistake was. I don’t tend to leave mistakes, but drop stitches and fix them. I’m rather good at fixing things, both in lace and cable work without frogging everything. But hypothetically, if I found a mistake near the beginning of a large afghan or something, and I didn’t find it until near the end, I would leave it, because if I hadn’t found it earlier, it was probably not a big mistake.
8. Where is the most unusual spot you’ve ever knit?
On a ferry in the Bosphorus.
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