How The West Was Spun

FO: Birdsfoot Stole

Finally!  It is finished.  Ravelry tells me I started this one in August 2007.  I think that's one of my longest UFOs, so not only am I very happy with the finished piece, I've gotten it DONE!

PROJECT SPECS:
Pattern:  Birdsfoot Stole, which I got as a kit from Virtual Yarns (aka the Starmore girls' store).  There is also a scarf version available, but this is the full-sized stole version.  
Yarn:  Hebredian 2-ply wool, which came with the kit in the Capercaille colorway.  This yarn is the tradiational Fair-Isle weight that is available for all the Starmore kits, but it softens up more than your typical Shetland fingering, when it's soaked a bit. The colorway is sort of a purplish-brown with a lot of little color flecks in it.  Hard to photograph, very subtle, but interesting. 
Needles:  US size 7s.
Modifications:  None.  Although I was a little short on yarn, so I just kept knitting until I got to where I would have run out mid-pattern repeat, and ended on row 1 as per the pattern.  I was able to block this out to 32 x 88 (rectangular), which is plenty big for me. 

The pattern is based on birds' feet tracks along the sands at low tides.  Can you see those in the detail shot?  (Click to embiggen.)

Laurie suggested I give myself some sort of nice "carrot" prize for getting this sucker done.  She initially had suggested another Virtual Yarns kit (gonna pass on that for right now), and then she did mention something with cashmere, which sounds very very nice, but I think I may treat myself to a quickie with handspun. 

All for now.....
 
 

WIP Wednesday: January 27, 2010

Project #1: Birdsfoot Stole

Still moving along on this.  I finished up skein #1 of the 3 remaining, and then started on the second remaining skein to finish up a pattern repeat, and sort of get myself over that convenient stopping place.  Still looks a whole lot like last week's picture, but this time, the quality control inspector was supervising, so you can tell it's a different photo.

Goal:  Finish up another skein of yarn - that'll leave me one to go!

I'm not really listing another project, as my only goal is to finish that daggone stole; however, since I kept my nose to the grindstone and finished the goal I had set for myself this past week, I treated myself to a little mindless knitting one evening after dinner.

This is the Striped Noro Scarf, of which there are a gazillion and one versions on Ravelry, but popularized by Jared Flood on his Brooklyn Tweed blog.  I'm knitting mine for the Red Scarf Project, and I'm using Noro Kuryeon, rather than Silk Garden.  The colorways are 226 and 233.  I tried to find one colorway that had a decent amount of red in it (that's the 226) and one that had more neutral, earthy tones in it (that's the 233).

I'm halfway done and quite enamored of the color changes without doing anything other than 1x1 ribbing.

 

The quality inspector, as you can see, takes her job VERY seriously. 

No specific goals for this - I just wanted to show you some progress on something other than the stole for a change.  This is my mindless car knitting right now, so it'll get done when it's done.

All for now.... 
 

WIP Wednesday: January 20, 2010

Project #1:  Birdsfoot Stole

Obviously I concentrated mostly on the test-knit socks that I showed you yesterday, but I did get another 2 repeats of the stole pattern knit, despite everything else going on.

Here's where I stand with this: I have 3 skeins of yarn left.  I gave myself a firm talking to, and honestly - there is no need for me to drag this out over several more months of 2 repeats a week, is there?  It's been on the needles for 18 months and I really would like to have it done and use-able rather than a UFO at this point.  So I will be focusing exclusively on this project (okay.... maybe a quick break with a little scarf or sock knitting when I cannot stand it any more) until it is finished. 

Goal:  At the very least, my goal is to knit one skein a week on this, which would finish it up in 3 weeks.  If I can manage to do more, I'm going to certainly try to power on thru, so I can call it done and maybe take it along for my next Remicade treatment as a nice warm wrap.

All for now.......

WIP Wednesday: December 23, 2009

Popping in for a very quick mini-WIP post before we get ready to depart for the east.

Project #1: Birdsfoot Stole

Despite the fact that I do have a gazillion and one shiny-new distractions, I dutifully knit my 2 pattern repeats on this for the past week.  It still looks.... well... the same.  Although I did finish one skein of yarn up, and started a new one, so I now only have 3 untouched skeins left, which appears to be progress of a sort.  No pictures again.  (see above - looks exactly the same!  Again!).

Goal: No goal on this for the next week, as we'll be traveling.

My other project of the Pink Crush socks are done, and when I get back from travel, we'll see what I've gotten accomplished on the add-on projects before I pick something to add to work on, m'kay?

All for now.....