WIP Wednesday + Yarn Along | June 10

I've been enjoying sharing pictures of my current knitting projects every Wednesday. Plus it's fun to link up with Ginny's Yarn Along and see what everyone else is working on.

It's finals week (of my last quarter of my first year of grad school) for me, so this post is going to be quite short. I have a couple of lose ends to tie up before I'm truly free!

Anyway, I've been plugging away on my Melodia shawl. It needs to be completed this Sunday with a picture posted to be eligible for the prize, a gift certificate to my LYS. I only have 2 rows and the bind off so I'm feeling confident. Right now it's bunched up on the needles so it's hard to photograph its true size and shape.

I've also been enjoying knitting my Tales from the Isle of Purbeck MKAL shawl. On Monday I finished clue 3 and clue 4 was just released...literally 10ish minutes ago. I'm excited to finish my work and get started on the last clue. Again, it's hard to photograph the shawl in a meaningful way while it's still on the needles.

Last week I purchased a wooden shawl pin to wear with the finished shawl. It's a simple bulb headed shawl pin, but I love it!

A couple of nights ago I knit a few rounds on a long-on-the-needles pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks. I'm hoping to finish those up soon and start a pair of Rose City Rollers. Although, I hear the next KAL at my LYS might be socks!

// Lauren

WIP Wednesday + Yarn Along | June 3

I'm sharing more progress pictures of what I've been working on this week. Lots of knitting, so I'm linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along!

I've been on a big knitting kick lately...browsing Ravelry for patterns, linking yarn with said patterns in a queue, and starting new projects. Usually I only like to have two projects on the needles, one that I'm working on and socks for mindless knitting (and on-the-go knitting). Since I worked on Courtney's sweater exclusively for so long, I got sick of it and put it aside. Intending to take a one project break, it quickly turned into casting on for multiple projects. It went from a Koigu triangle shawl to the Melodia KAL, to the Tales from the Isle of Purbeck MKAL, to a Ludlow. Although, I think the break worked because I'm felling the sweater's pull again. Yesterday, in my June Goals post, I vowed to finish that sweater this month!

Anyway, I finished both clue 1 and 2 from the Tales of Purbeck MKAL last Friday. It was such a nice, easy knit that I flew through it and was waiting impatiently for today for the next clue. Happily enough the 3rd clue was released early and I was able to work on it last night.

I have to say, I love the yarn (O-Wool Local) I'm working with. It's a bit more rustic than I'm used to, but it softens up as you work with it. I can't wait to soak it in some Eucalan, block it, and see how it responds.

The first picture shows my shawl after clue 1. While the rest were taken this morning.

I've had 1600 yards of 100% alpaca yarn sitting in my stash for a few years because I couldn't find a pattern that was 'special' enough. I bought it at Stitches West is 2013 from Alpacas by the Sea and it came with information on the exact alpaca the fiber came from, so I thought it was deserving of some special treatment. Not wanting to knit a sweater out of alpaca (too hot and it tends to sag) and loving Ludlow since I first saw it, I combined the two.

It called for two strands of Brooklyn Tweed Loft held together knit on size 9 (5.5 mm) needles. Since my yarn is about a sport weight, I went with size 6 (4.0 mm) needles. It was too loose and too fuzzy, so I went down to size 4 (3.5 mm) needles and it's working out much better. I'm not very far because it requires some concentration and I typically do my knitting in front of the TV.

The yarn itself is a bit fuzzy, so the pattern isn't as crisp as I'd like, but the fabric is soft and dense. It will make a very nice scarf on the days I walk to school in the snow. 

Lastly, I'm still plugging away on my Melodia. I really only work on it with the group at my LYS on Sundays, but it's still growing quite quickly!

// Lauren

WIP Wednesday + Yarn Along | May 27

Just like last Wednesday, I'm sharing my current works in progress (WIPs). I love to see progress photos, so why not include some here?

Right now I'm participating in a knit along at my LYS. Last week, I posted a picture of the very beginning of my shawl...what I had managed to knit at the first meeting. Well, what I knit after ripping out my first attempt to go down a couple of needle sizes. I was good and had swatched the night before and according to the guage measurements, I needed a size 7 needle, so that's what I went with. Except when I was unhappy with the fabric as I was knitting the shawl. I knew I wouldn't wear it at such a loose gauge so I ripped it out and started over with size 5 needles. I know I am risking running out of yarn, but I'm okay with buying more to finish the project if needed. I will be at the shop the next couple of weeks!
 

[I couldn't help but include a close up of my pretty Rosewood needle. I am in love with these Dyakcraft Darn Pretty Needles.]

Last Sunday there was no meetup because of the Memorial Day weekend, so Courtney and I had our own little knit along party. We watched House of Cards and worked on our Melodias. It's such a simple knit...perfect for TV watching. In fact, it's going so quickly that I might have to make it 'meeting only' knitting.

Last Wednesday I also jumped into the Tales from the Isle of Purbeck MKAL (Mystery Knit Along). I have been hesitant to participate in mystery knit alongs where I can't see the pattern in its entirety before beginning. I like choosing a proper yarn and honestly, the control. However, I do love byannieclaire's aesthetic, so I decided to give it a go. Trying new things is good, right?

The pattern was designed with Hole and Sons yarn in mind. Their yarn is released in limited quantities and sells out in minutes. I think the last batch went in 2 minutes! Although I didn't get my hands on any, I do follow benjaminhole on Instagram, but it's more like I'm following the sheep, which is fun.

Anyway, I wanted to stick with the theme of the MKAL and stick with local / single source wool. The designer provided a list of similar yarns that would work in the Ravelry group, so after checking them out, I settled on O-Wool Local in the Hornbeam colorway. I was undecided between the Hornbeam and Wissahickon colorways because I love Wissahickon park, but the Hornbeam is a color I will wear more often. I went with O-Wool because it's a Philadelphia company! The yarn is a 50/50 merino alpaca blend with the alpaca coming from local Pennsylvanian and New Jersey alpacas.

I'm still waiting on my yarn, but hopefully it will arrive today and I'll be able to add some more yarn-y photos! MY YARN ARRIVED!

// Lauren

P.S. I'm linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along! 

WIP Wednesday + Yarn Along

I'm hoping to keep the blog updated with my current projects, even when they aren't finished. Last week Courtney posted a 'WIP Wednesday' post and I thought it was such a great idea. I love seeing in progress photos, so why not include some here?

Also, I usually always have a project on the needles since knitting is more portable and easier for me to work on in short spurts. Sewing involves having fabric cut out, my machine out and ready to go, and I like to work in long stretches with sewing. Anyway, I'm also linking up with Ginny's Yarn-Along.

Right now I'm working on a Koigu and Plucky Knitter triangle cowl. It's not really a pattern, but on my last visit to my LYS I saw a sample being knit by the shop owner and asked about it. Turns out it's just two rows of each color while increasing one stitch on one side every right side row. Oh, and I didn't like my edges so I added an i-cord edge. Since I had two skeins of KPPM and a skein of Primo Fingering that was more than double the yardage of the KPPM, I just knit according to the 'recipe' until I ran out of KPPM. Then instead of increasing on every right side row I started decreasing using k2tog. Yay, for no weighing skeins! Here's what I did...

Increasing:
Cast on 7 stitches
Row 1 // Knit till last 4 stitches, kfb,  slip last 3 purl-wise with yarn in front
Row 2 // Knit till last 3 sttitches, slip last 3 purl-wise with yarn in front

Repeat until you've used half your yarn, making sure to switch colors every 2 rows. 

Decreasing:
Row 1 // Knit till last 5 stitches, k2tog,  slip last 3 purl-wise with yarn in front
Row 2 // Knit till last 3 sttitches, slip last 3 purl-wise with yarn in front
Repeat until 7 stitches left, bind off


I also just started a knit-along (KAL) at my LYS. We are knitting Melodia, a simple garter stitch crescent shaped shawl. I'm really enjoying it because it's in person and I don't really get to knit with others, besides Courtney. We've only met once, but I'm loving the trek to the shop and the chosen pattern. It's such a fast knit...I'm going to have to pace myself so that I have something to knit at each meeting.

// Lauren