Beluga Shrug - Finished!

I also finally finished up my Beluga Shrug this past week.  I started this shrug on August 21, 2018 and finished it on April 22, 2020.  The photo does not really do justice to the colors.  Something about the iPad camera.  I have one more Paintbox set to turn into a shrug, but I haven’t caked up any of the skeins.  I have a lot of projects on the needles right now.

Pattern:  Traveling Zebra Shrug by Carolyn Blakelock

Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Bis-Sock

Needles:  US 2.5 (3 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)

Albuquerque Spring - Pattern Repeat Section Three Done

This really is more spring time than sunset, so I’ve changed the project name.  I finished up the third pattern repeat section this morning while finishing up volume one of the William Patterson biography of Robert Heinlein.  It has been a fun read considering how influential he was on me when I was growing up.  I started reading Science Fiction when I was 14 and worked in a Science Fiction & Fantasy bookstore in my hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio my senior year in High School.  The bookstore was called “Elsewhere”.

I’m liking the colors in this one.  Very happy colors.

Pattern:  Albuquerque Sunset by Casapinka 

Yarn:  Alcidina Momentum in Corona and Sundara Yarns Extra Fine Fingering Merino in Green

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lamina Wrap - Six Mini Skeins Done

I have now completed all of the first two skeins of the Advent Calendar and most of the third.  I’ve already caked up the fourth skein in anticipation.  I was a little bit worried about the transition between skein 24 and skein 1, but it flows beautifully.  I think this is really going to turn out to be a gorgeous wrap.

Pattern:  Lamina Wrap by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed Christmas Carol Advent Set

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Opinionated Cardinal Shawl - Border Started

Working the border in Opinionated Cardinal just wasn’t going to work, so I cast about for an alternative in my stash.  I thought about working a border in red, but red is a hard color to match, and I didn’t want to use my Woodsman skein, as I have other plans for it.  So I pulled out a skein of gray, from Sunshine Yarns, appropriately the color way is called Feather.  I think it will work.

Pattern:  Improvised (Boomerang shawl)

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Yarns Oriana in Opinionated Cardinal

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Delphinia Shawl - Cast On

I think that these skeins may have been my first Interstellar Yarn Alliance shipments.  The one on the right was the May 2019 club shipment, and the one on the left is the coordinating colorway.  At that time I thought that they would make a good Delphinia.  Even though I have plenty of projects on the needles, I decided to go ahead and cast on another one.  I wanted something pretty simple, with some nice sections of garter stitch for reading while knitting.

The yarn is SpaceCadet Ester, a nice sock yarn.

This picture shows how nicely the garter sections in the Ice Cream Truck colorway frames the Eyelet sections in Chalk Doodles.

Pattern:  Delphinia by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Yarns Ester in Ice Cream Truck and Chalk Doodles

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lamina Wrap - Three Mini Skeins Done

I’ve finished up the last three skeins of the advent set (22, 23 and 24) and have started on skein 1.  It doesn’t look very long now, but trust me, it will stretch when blocked.  The garter stitch and wrong side rows are good for reading to, but not the right side lace rows, so this tends to be TV knitting.

Pattern:  Lamina Wrap by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed Christmas Carol Advent Set

Needle:  US 4 ( 3.5 mm)

Opinionated Cardinal Shawl - Body Done

I finished up the body of this shawl while walking the neighborhood with Bruce.  He has taken to walking every day for exercise, and when I can I join him.  I think I finished up the body before we even went on the mandatory telework, so that would have been back in March.  It then got to sit for a while so I could ponder how I wanted to finish it off.  I purchased a second set of the color ways because I really liked the colors, so I had some options.  At this point I think I will use my second skein of Opinionated Cardinal to work the border on this one.  It will be interesting to see how the colors pool with the shorter rows.  I then plan on knitting another Boomerang Shawl for myself with the Woodsman color way, and probably using the rest of the Opinionated Cardinal for a border on that one as well, unless I decide to go with black, as I did for my sister’s shawl.

Pattern:  Improvised (Boomerang shawl)

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Yarns Oriana in Opinionated Cardinal

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lunar Fade MKAL - Clue 2 Done

Clue 2 went pretty fast.  This is actually pretty good knitting for working on while I’m reading, which allowed me to catch up on my Heinlein biography.  I’m really liking my colors.  I put in a lifeline, as recommended by the designer, and am also using markers, which I rarely do.  I did make one mistake - I forgot an increase at the very end of the first increase row in the pink section.  At first I thought about adding an increase on a later row, but the next increase row had you skip the increase in the first section, so I did not skip that increase and that got me to the correct stitch count.  The last row establishes a new pattern, with 14 stitch markers instead of 11, so I figured it wouldn’t make a difference.  The pattern called for m1r increases, but I did lifted increases instead.  I just like them better.  I’ve been weaving in my ends as I go so I don’t have all that finishing to do later.  I did the same thing on my Xuan Wrap.

Pattern:  Lunar Fade MKAL by Larissa Brown

Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk Single

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lamina Wrap - Cast On!

After finishing up my Xuan Wrap I cast on a Lamina Wrap to use up the rest of the Advent Calendar. I’m not using a main color between the lace sections, just the gradiance.  I started out with the rest of skein 22 (bottom cake on the left hand side).  Fortunately the Christmas Carol Advent Calendar is a circle gradiance, so skein 24 blends to skein 1 and you can start anywhere you want to in the circle.  I will keep knitting the wrap until I run out of yarn.

Pattern:  Lamina Wrap by Ambah O’Brien
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed Christmas Carol Advent Set
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Xuan Wrap - Finished!

Thanks to a focused effort, and a couple of long meetings, I finished up my Xuan Wrap this past week.  I had enough of the Hedgehog Fibres yarn to work seven Mosaic sections.  The pattern has you end after a Garter Stitch section, working six repeats total.  I wanted to use up as much of my main color as possible, and wanted a little bit of a longer shawl.  I used skeins 13-21 completely, and a little bit of skein 22 from my 2019 Unique Sheep Advent Calendar.

I did not use the last two skeins on the right, and only a little bit of the third skein from the end on the right.

Pattern:  Xuan Wrap by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed - Christmas Carol Advent Calendar & Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in Butter

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Albuquerque Sunset - Pattern Repeat Section Two Done

This weekend I took a little break from my Xuan Wrap and finished up the second repeat section on my Albuquerque Sunset, which should maybe be renamed Albuquerque Spring.  It was some nice pretty mindless knitting that I could do while reading.  I’m reading a biography of Robert A. Heinlein.

Pattern:  Albuquerque Sunset by Casapinka

Yarn:  Alcidina Momentum in Corona and Sundara Yarns Extra Fine Fingering Merino in Green

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lunar Fade MKAL - Clue 1 Done

Back in February, Larissa Brown announced another Mystery Knit Along.  I did some stash diving and came up with the fours skeins above.  They are all Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk Single and the colors are, from left to right:  Rose, OOAK Mishy, Fire Red and Kyanite.  The pattern called for a light, medium and dark color and something as a pop.  I decided to use Kyanite as my light color, Rose as my medium color, Fire Red as my dark and the variegated skein as my pop.  Larissa had recommended using a variegated for that color.  This first clue came out yesterday and after some initial technical difficulties with the pattern update delivery I was finally able to cast on yesterday evening, finishing the clue this afternoon.

I have already woven in my ends.  The two ends I have not woven in I will use to anchor my color A (the Kyanite) when the next clue comes out.  I have taken to using a little clip to anchor the tail of my yarn to the other yarn on the project to keep things neater and more under control.

Pattern:  Lunar Fade MKAL by Larissa Brown

Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk Single

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Xuan Wrap - Four Mosaic Sections Done

This past Tuesday I had made it through three Mosaic sections and had just started a fourth.  As of yesterday I have completed four Mosaic sections and am over half-way through the fifth.  I am also getting into the green part of my yarn.  I have been using up each of my mini skeins, joining the tail of the current skein to the start of the next skein.  I am currently working with skein 19, I started with 13, so I’m on skein 7 of 12.  I will use up as much yarn as I can, extending the repeats.  The pattern has you end with a plain garter stitch section, but I may try to end with a Mosaic section.  We’ll see how the yarn usage goes.

Pattern:  Xuan Wrap by Ambah O’Brien
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Rare Breed - Christmas Carol Advent Calendar & Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in Butter
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Beluga Shrug - One Side Done

I needed a simple project for working on while reading last week, so I pulled this one out again.  The last time I had touched it was about a year ago at the 2019 Unique Sheep Retreat.  I took it along for car knitting.  Last week I finished up the first side and started on the second.  I’ve already completed one stripe.

Pattern:  Traveling Zebra Shrug by Carolyn Blakelock

Yarn:  Biscotte & Cie Bis-Sock

Needles:  US 2.5 (3 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)