Several Shawls

 Hi all -

We're moving into fall here with the aspen leaves turning. The leaves are dropping now, but I've really enjoyed their beauty! We've been having some unusually warm weather, but it's supposed to cool down a bit next week. We even have our first chance of snow for the season on Tuesday night. We usually have a small amount of snow sometime in September, so it looks like we're having a late start. I'll have to get my winter tires soon!

I've been furiously knitting away on my project for the Joji Locatelli Fall Knit-Along. I finished my Echoes of Color shawl. This isn't a very good picture, but it shows the shape of the shawl and you can see the fringe on the bottom edges:

Echoes of Color

This picture shows the color and design better:

Echoes of Color close-up

And this one has the best representation of the colors:

Echoes of Color close-up

I really love how this shawl turned out! I think the colors are gorgeous! This is from my favorite color palette -- caramel with jewel tones. It's going to be a gift for one of my sisters.

I was also able to complete a second shawl -- Pure Joy:

Pure Joy

Again, not the greatest picture, but the close-ups show the details better:

Pure Joy close-up

Pure Joy close-up

Pure Joy close-up

I wasn't sure how these colors would work together, but I really love how they turned out! For those of you who are knitters, I didn't quite make this shawl correctly. The pattern uses short rows for the shaping and I misunderstood what method was supposed to be used, so I used German short rows instead of wrap-and-turn. While each method is valid for short rows, there a bit of a difference in how you count the stitches so my short rows ended up a little shorter than they were supposed to be. That means that the wedges are a little narrower and shorter than they are supposed to be on the end where they all come together. But I stayed consistent in how I did things and nobody will know about the mistake but me. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this shawl or give it to one of my nieces. I love the color combination, but I'm not sure if any of them will.

I've also started a third shawl -- At Dawn:

At Dawn

This shawl also uses short rows for the shaping, but this time I'm doing it correctly. It's hard to visualize what the final shawl will look like at this point, but it will end up as a mirror image where the mirrored side will be the darker color with light colored stripes. This will be a gift for one of my nieces.

In the background, I've also made progress on my Peeping Cowl:

Peeping Cowl

At this point, I've pulled in all four colors that will be used in the cowl. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the darker color in the stripes on the top is a dark gray and not the purple that is used below. I have two more solid sections (in each of the grays) separated by two more striped sections, then there'll be some ribbing in the purple to finish off the cowl. This will probably be a give for my other sister.

That's all of the progress I've made so far. October has a mini-challenge for making one-skein cowls and shawls so I'll switch gears tomorrow and start another cowl that uses a single skein of yarn. I also have a couple of mystery knit-alongs starting up next month. First, Stephen West starts his annual mystery shawl project on Oct 5. He's an incredible designer who specializes in very modern designs with an incredible use of color and interesting techniques. This will the first time I've joined in. Also, Laura Nelkin, who is my favorite knit designer, has a mystery cowl project starting on Oct 13. I'm really looking forward to both of these! We'll see what I have time to get done with all of this going on. My biggest priority is that I'll work on whatever projects bring me joy!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Nancy

Echoes of Color Shawl Almost Done

 Hi all -

Things are going well here. Grace is adjusting to her new home. We're making good progress with her separation anxiety and her fear of the car. She's really settling in well to her new home!

The Joji Locatelli Fall Knit-Along (FKAL) that I talked about last time has started. It lasts for 3 months (Sept-Nov). The basic rules are that you sign up for a list of projects before the knit-along begins. Then, you work on those projects during the 3 months. Projects must be started and finished during that time. Anything you finish gives you a chance to win a prize. There are also monthly "mini-challenges". In the month of September, there's a work-in-pogress (WIP) challenge. If you finish a Joji project that you started before the FKAL during the month of September, you get a chance at a prize (this is the only exception to the "must start 9/1 or later" rule for the rest of the FKAL). All of my prior Joji projects were already finished so I couldn't do this challenge. October has a single-skein shawl or cowl challenge. If you start and finish a shawl or cowl that uses only a single skein of yarn, you get a chance at a prize. These projects also qualify for the regular FKAL prizes, so these will get you two chances at a prize. The November challenge is a holiday knitting challenge. If you finish anything in the month of November that has any relation to a holiday, you get a chance at a prize. So, this could be holiday gifts, something made with holiday (any holiday) colors, whatever. You can start the project in any FKAL month (since it has to be one of the regular FKAL projects), but you have to finish it in November. I'm using the FKAL to make my holiday gifts, so this is the perfect mini-challenge for me! Now I just have to decide if I'll get some projects mostly done then save the finish for November for the extra prize chance or if I'll finish things.....

The first FKAL project I've started is the Echoes of Color shawl designed by Joji (of course):

Echoes of Color

I chose some beautiful Malabrigo yarn for this in my favorite color palette (caramel with jewel tones). I'm making the large size of the shawl, so this is a LOT of knitting, but you are changing colors a lot so it keeps your interest. I'm almost done with the main body of the shawl, then there will be some rows that are knit along the top of the shawl. This is going to be a Christmas present for one of my sisters. I'm thinking that the large size will make it nice to keep by the couch to put over her shoulders on those cooler winter evenings when you need a little extra something while watching TV.

I realized that I also needed a small project to work on outside while playing ball with Grace. Grace loves to play ball and she knows how to do it, but she has some trouble giving up the ball. I play with two balls so I can pick up the one ball while she's chasing the other, but now she likes to drop the ball where I can't reach it from the deck so we have a lot of time where I'm waiting for her to decide to put the ball where I can reach it so I can throw the other ball. A small project is the perfect thing to work on while I wait! So I've made a small start on the Peeping Cowl:

Peeping Cowl

This is a cowl made with 4 colors and has sections of stripes mixed with sections of lace. Here are the yarns that I chose to use out of my stash:

Peeping Cowl yarns

I think this will be a fun cowl! I haven't decided what I'll do with it when I'm finished. I could keep it or give it as a gift or donate it to the homeless shelter.

Outside of the FKAL, I also finally sat down and added the August installment to my Juni Throw designed by Katy Petersen:

Juni Throw

This is the project for the Jimmy Beans Wool Blanket Club, where we get a new skein of yarn and a new piece of the pattern every month. It's hard to believe we are 2/3 of the way through this project! Here's what the pattern for August looks like:

Juni Throw close-up

That's it for my progress this time. It'll be interesting to see where my knitting takes me this fall! Along with the Joji FKAL, Stephen West has an annual mystery shawl KAL every fall. He's a really interesting knit designer from Amsterdam. He makes really colorful modern designs with really interesting construction. I purchased the pattern and ordered some yarn, but will have to decide if I have time to participate. For the mystery KAL, you don't know what you're knitting when you start and you get pieces of the pattern at regular intervals until you have a surprise finished shawl at the end. And now Laura Nelkin, another favorite knit designer of mine, is having a mystery cowl KAL for the month of October. I'd like to participate in that, too. So we'll see where I end up spending my time....

I hope everyone is doing well! The aspen are on the verge of changing colors in my neighborhood so I'm looking forward to some incredibly beautiful walks with Grace!

Nancy