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