Box of Chocolates - Finished!

 

And speaking of large shawls...after finishing up my Raspberry Cordial Shawlette I turned my attention back to this shawl, which took over 1600 yards of yarn (1644 according to my project page).  The last clue was pretty easy, although I was a little worried about having enough of the purple yarn (I had a couple of grams to spare).  Blocking was a bit of a challenge.

Not the best photo, but it does show the challenges.  I just let the shawl do what it wanted to do and didn’t even pin it except for the two points at the end of the curve at the top.

It is easy to where, thanks to the shape, and it is huge.

Pattern:  Box of Chocolates MKAL by Hilary Latimer 

Yarn:  Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Raspberry Cordial Shawlette - Finished!

 

This one became a bit like popcorn or chips, I just kept working at it because it was easy and cheerful and quick, finishing it up in a week instead of the two weeks allotted by the mini-KAL.  Blocking something smaller was kind of nice.  I’ve been blocking some pretty big shawls lately.

I pinned the top curl and the points.

Pattern:  Raspberry Cordial Shawlette by Casapinka 

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Raspberry Cordial Shawlette - Cast On

I know I don’t really need another project on the needles, but last week the Miss Babs newsletter had kits for an upcoming (as in starting this weekend) mini knit-along by Casapinka.  The name of the pattern is Raspberry Cordial Shawlette and the kits on offer inspired me to do a little stash surfing.  I quickly came up with these.

All three are from The Unique Sheep, on their fingering weight Kiri yarn (wool/silk blend).  The pink is Pandemic Pink, dyed by Laura early last year in response to the pandemic and lock down.  The other two are leftovers from a Spring Trio.  The speckled skein is Wildflower and the blue is Bluebird Skies.

The pattern is pretty straightforward, except for the instructions for the increases in the middle of the shawl, which referred to markers (placed after yarn overs, which I loath).  After several rows I figured out what was going on, noticed I had missed a yarn over on the edge a few row backs, ripped back and started over, ditching the markers.  No more confusion.

 Pattern:  Raspberry Cordial Shawlette by Casapinka

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Kiri

Needle:  US 6 (4 mm)

Box of Chocolates - Clue 8 Done

 

I finished up Clue 8 (the penultimate clue) this past Thursday.  It didn’t take me all that long, even thought I had to rip back a few rows.  I was knitting on autopilot and failed to notice the pattern changed on row 9 until I got to row 11.  As a rule I don’t use lifelines, but I do have a handy tool for capturing stitches before I pull the needles and rip back.

Essentially it is a skinny knitting needle attached to a long cable with a stopper at the other end.  I have four of these, two long and two short.  I think I picked them up at The Loopy Ewe when I had some Loopy cash that needed spending and didn’t want to buy more yarn.  You can also use them as a stitch holder.  There is a hole in the stopper that you can pass the needle through to secure everything.  The biggest challenge is making sure that you stay on a single row, I keep a cable needle handy for grabbing those stitches until I can safety transfer them back to my working needle.  Once I’ve inserted this I pull my working needles and start ripping.  Then I transfer the stitches back to my working needle.

Out of curiosity I took a picture of the shawl so far on my dress maker dummy.

Reminds me of a layer cake at this point.  We’ll see how it comes out after the last clue, which apparently uses all of the colors.

Pattern:  Box of Chocolates MKAL by Hilary Latimer

Yarn:  Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Arrowhead Shawl - Month Two Done

My February yarn arrived last week, so I spent yesterday during some meetings and this morning to knit up the second section.  I don’t usually go for the more neutral colors, but I’m liking this so far.

C1 - Modern fair isle

C2 - Tiny house

Pattern:  Arrowhead Shawl by ChiWei Ranck

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Merino Light + Tweed

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Spirits of the Season - Finished!

Well, that was a fun and surprisingly addictive knit.  I think it would be fun to knit it up in two colors.  Blocking was reasonably straightforward.

It took me several tries to get the pick up of the edging so that things lined up correctly.  The shawl wears surprisingly well also.  I wasn’t sure with the tapered design, but it actually works.  I was a little nervous knitting the last contrast color section wondering if I would have enough yarn, but I finished with almost 2 grams to spare.  Here are all the yarns used.

MC - Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock - Edwards Volvo

CC1 - Spun Right Round Merino Singles - Belly Flop

CC2 - the periwinkle sheep merino single - You Are Loved

CC3 - Hedgehog Fibres Sock - Birthday Cake

CC4 - madelinetosh Tosh Sock - Hosta Blue

CC5 - Spun Right Round Merino Singles - Moon Dance

CC6 - the periwinkle sheep merino single - Fuschia Agate

CC7 - Koigu KPPPM - P127

Pattern:  Spirits of the Season by Amy Gunderson

Yarn: Various

Needle:  US 6 (4 mm)

 

Box of Chocolates - Clue 7 Done

 

Another straight forward lace pattern.  No more increases, just 402 stitches.  This clue brought in my third contrast color, the purple. I’m not completely sure about the color combination at this point, but I will wait and see how it looks when it is not all scrunched up on needles.  I do like the use of the yellow as my pop color.  Clue 8, the penultimate clue, is out and we have two weeks to work it.

Pattern:  Box of Chocolates MKAL by Hilary Latimer

Yarn:  Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)