A long overdue FO

I forgot to mention that at the beginning of the month I finally finished my Trillian.

I was supposed to finish this for a KAL back in August...oops.

Throwing Caution to the Wind

I've decided to laugh in the face of gauge recommendations, and just knit my Trillian with the US3 needle I had originally started with.  I like the look of it with the 3s the best.  Hopefully it will turn out well.

I'm hoping to get some quality knitting time in this weekend so that I can "catch up"--I started two weeks after the KAL was supposed to start because of my indecisiveness.  Curse you, brain!  Other people are finishing their first projects already, and I only have a small corner of a shawl.  Must. Power. Through!

An FO and more knitting-curses

A couple weekends ago I had an action movie marathon and finished my Truckee Shawlette.

It was seriously a marathon--I watched/listened to four different action flicks and knit my brains out.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and Malabrigo remains my favorite thing ever.  It's so lovely and soft!

Poor Sam hasn't been able to finish (and I shouldn't have, but I was on a roll).  Luckily she's a better friend than I am, and is okay with my having finished because she knows I have other KALs to start.

Speaking of, the Mean Girls Yarn Club KAL started July 1st (and goes until August 31st), and I had all kinds of plans.  None of them have come to fruition yet.

I really wanted to use the colorway called "Hoar's Your Buddy?" which is based on Syndrome from the Incredibles.  My original plan was to make a knitted monster, but the more I looked at the yarn, the more I wanted it to be something else.  I decided I liked the pattern Baana, because the linen stitch would mix up the colors nicely and prevent a lot of pooling.  I started it, and even liked how it looked:

...but then I realized that despite all the blue (I love blue), I would probably never wear it because I am not a fan of orange.  So...I frogged my progress and decided to make it a monster again...except I don't have the proper needle size.  My birthday is in a couple of weeks, and I asked for an interchangeable needle set, which would include the needle I need, so the monster is on hold.

So, with a different MGYC colorway, I decided to try my hand at Trillian.  It was looking pretty good, but the pattern calls for a gauge of 21 stitches/27 ridges over 4 inches, and I'm getting 30 stitches over 4 inches.  SIGH.

I'm not really sure how far up in needle size I should go (and how much it matters, since its a scarf/shawl).  I did pull back and try on a US 8 for giggles, and that's WAY too loose for my liking.  I actually liked how it was knitting up on the needles I was originally using, but I'm worried about the gauge, especially because I have less yardage than called for (which others have done, just making a smaller kerchief).  I WILL NEVER WIN.


ETA:  I just realized that the gauge thing may be less of an issue than I thought, because its not blocked.  Crisis averted?

Jinxed

I managed to jinx myself in one of my last posts by stating that I was managing to stay caught up with my mini-KAL. I fell behind last week and didn't finish Segment 2 as I was supposed to by last Sunday, so I stalled poor Sam.  She told me she'd wait for me, even though I insisted she continue.  I have a couple of "waiting around forever" activities the next couple of days, and I know I can catch up.  Stinks to be nearly a week behind, though.

In other KAL news, the Mean Girls Yarn Club (to which I currently belong) is having a KAL that starts July and ends in August that seems like something I can manage.  We can use any pattern we want, we just have to use yarn that came from the club.  We can also do more than one project if we're feeling spiffy.  I plan on making another monster, and if I manage to get that done in decent time, I might go ahead and try to make something else (to be determined).  I'll have to start scrounging through my queue and favorites to see what could work with DK and fingering weights.  I know the fingering section of my favorites is a little...full, so there's potential there.

Brief Knit-Along Ponderings

Sam and I are both halfway through Segment 2 of the Truckee Shawlette, so this week will be devoted to finishing the remaining four repeats of that section.  Progress is steady, which is always nice.

I'm glad we're doing our own little mini-KAL, because I've always wanted to participate in one.  I haven't before because I have always worried that my tendency to be a slacker would put me too far behind and I wouldn't finish, etc. etc.  However, having deadlines/goals is actually helping my productivity--who knew? (hee!) 

I do wonder if part of my motivation is because if I don't stay caught up with Sam, she'll wait for me before she continues, and I would feel bad for slowing down her groove.  This would of course not happen in an actual KAL (the waiting); but I guess the only way for me to see if I could do a big KAL would be to just try it!

Hurray for Progress!

So far, all is on schedule for the mini-KAL.  Sam and I both finished Segment 1 of the Truckee Shawlette, and will be moving on to Segment 2 this upcoming week, though we still aren't quite sure how to break that segment up.  Our original plan was to do 4 of the 8 repeats, but then we realized that not only are we going to be increasing stitch counts, but there are four rows for each color instead of just two.  So...we're sort of playing that one by ear.

Truckee Shawlette in progress.  Yay, stripes!

In other news, I've also been plugging away on my Raphaelite socks--shocking, I know.  I'm currently working through the gusset increases of sock #1 (the sock is toe-up).  My sock progress will likely slow down as the Truckee Shawlette gets bigger.

Most of a sock!  I might get these done by November.

Just a little KAL

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Sam and I wandered into our LYS (Jimmy Beans Wool), and saw a simple, but beautiful, shawl/scarf hanging up on display.  We inquired as to the pattern (it was the Truckee Shawlette) and what yarn was used (Malabrigo Lace/Silkpaca), and then discovered that it was actually knit by our friend Rachel!  Figures--she makes all the pretty things.

At any rate, both of us have been thinking about that project for WEEKS, and finally last week after we'd had lunch at a restaurant very close to the shop I suggested we stop by.  It did not take much convincing, and within 30 minutes both Sam and I had yarn and a plan to have our own little KAL.

As previously mentioned, the pattern is the Truckee Shawlette, which is a free pattern by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich (via JBW).  Sam will be using Malabrigo Silkpaca in Vaa and Arco Iris; I'll be using Malabrigo Lace Superwash in Polar Moon and Lavanda.

My purples--Polar Moon (L) and Lavanda (R)

We're starting today, so anyone that wants to join us (last minute, sorry) is welcome!  We don't have a full plan of attack quite yet; we're sort of playing it by ear (or feel?)  This week our goal is to work through the set up and Pattern Segment #1.