It's official!

• Ravelry Project Page: Colorwash
• Pattern: Colorwash Scarf by Kirsten Kapur in Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 3: Wild Yarns
•  Yarn:
  • 70/30 Superwash Merino/Silk
    • "Bobbing for Apples"
    • "Natural" (undyed)
• Needles:  US 6
• Start to Finish:  April 21 – May 10, 2017
• Mods: Nothing other than adding some colorful stripes in the "solid color" garter stitch portion of the design

Isn't she lovely? Kym deserves credit that this is even a thing! I was this >< close to frogging after barely getting a start; she was the lone voice cautioning, "not so fast, see what happens." And I listened!

We seem to be forming a Mutual Encouragement Society!

I love how it turned out. It was really fun to knit and watch it develop; the more I knit, the more I liked it.

It's bright and bold — and a bit outside of my comfort zone. It will "go" with almost anything, though, and will certainly provide a pop of color to my normally dark and neutral wardrobe.

I think there are a couple of reasons this worked so well, despite the super-colorful and super-saturated yarn.

One is that Kirsten's brilliant pattern was designed for WILD YARNS, and this is certainly that!

Another is that the distribution of color was very even throughout. Each color was given equal billing, so to speak, and they all play nicely together — there are no spotlight-hogging (pooling or flashing) divas!

I'm on the fence about the yarn, which I've never used before. It's very soft and there's a fabulous halo; I'm not sure how it will hold up over time, especially in terms of pilling. It's also very hard… it's difficult to describe, but it makes a "hard edge" that I sometimes find uncomfortable to wear, and I wonder if that might be slightly less an issue without the silk element. It might be partly design; I find it tricky to comfortably wear any shawl that has a really taut edge. It's definitely a thing with me, though, because it's not just shawls — this is something that happens with all types of garments, whether commercial or handmade. I don't know what it is, but if it doesn't sit "just so," it can hurt my neck, back, shoulders.

It sure makes me so happy, though, and it looks fabulous on the form. I will fuss 'til it feels right!

Meta moment with Kate… she's posting about me taking pictures to post about my knitting. (She'd also been working in the garden!)

More like "Spring Camp!" I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago. I've been wearing it a lot, too.

• Ravelry Project Page: Summer Camp
• Pattern: Summer Camp by Laura Aylor
•  Yarn:
  • Make.Do "Be" Fingering/Sock
    • Playful & Basic Black
• Needles:  US 5
• Start to Finish:  March 29 – April 14, 2017

It's quite long, and wraps generously around my neck. I never blocked it, and think perhaps the knitted-on leaf edging might benefit from it. But I'm in no rush.

It "goes" with just about everything, but I especially love it with black, gray (my basics), or light blue.

It's all garter stitch, which I love, and the pattern was truly easy to memorize! I would consider making another one — it's a great pattern for speckled or variegated yarn.

Related articles

If you think you haven't seen a finished knitting project around here in a while, you would be absolutely right. If you took a look around here, you'd think that this shawl was the ONLY finished object of 2016! In fact, it's the second*, though it is the only project so far that I both started & completed this year.

• Project: Thistle Rambles (TTL Mystery Shawl 2016) by Kirsten Kapur
• Yarns:
  
• Crochet The Winter Hunter Yarns' Basic Sock in "Tonal Teal" colorway
• Make.Do Be Fingering/Sock in "How Dark #524-6" colorway (working out a custom color!)
• Needle:  US 5
• Start to Finish:  June 1 - July 31, 2016

This is my fourth Through The Loops Mystery Shawl!

I had some issues… tinking back a few times to get back on track after dropping stitches.

And I'm pretty sure there's an error or five to be found.

But I loved knitting it and kept it a mystery, never peeking at spoiler photos after I fell behind — until I got to the bind-off row, and then I took a look. I used a 5 US needle for the body of the shawl, but an 8 to bind off in order to get the stretch I wanted. I was tempted to knit a couple/few more rows of garter just before the bind off, too, but wasn't sure I had enough yarn. (Turns out, I had plenty… but I love it as is!)

*The first FO was Deep End II, which I began February 4th, 2015, while vacationing in Todos Santos, Mexico! I noted on Ravelry that I worked the sewn bind-off at the Madison Knit-In, which was Feb. 20-22 that year, but it took over a year to pick it up and weave in ends. I did that during the Rites of Spring Fiber Frolic, April 29-May 1. Gin was born May 2nd… and that explains both the lack of an FO post and the general lack of knitting altogether. I have been saying that the creative output so far this summer has been way down, but the cuddle quotient is WAY UP!

• Project: TTL Mystery Shawl 2015 – Liz Christy by Kirsten Kapur
• Yarn: Malabrigo Sock, Turner & Candombe colorways, < 1 skein each
• Needle:  US 7
• Start to Finish:  June 1 - December 10, 2015

Once again, a project that's been finished for an embarrassingly long time save for the weaving in of ends and blocking.

I didn't pin this out, either; I simply washed it and artfully draped it to shape over my wooden drying rack.

There is no time right now for any more than that!

Also, I couldn't find my Block 'n Roll mat! (My workroom is approaching Code Red, and I'm looking forward to the reclamation project in there.)

It's very big, and would be even bigger had I really given that mesh a stretch. I love how these two colorways play together!