New Pattern: Spindral

I am so thrilled to finally have this pattern out in the world. This shawl started with the yarn- Bling Lace, by T & H Fiber Works, in the colorway Tiger Lily. The little flecks of sparkle immediately made me think of spider webs beaded with morning dew, and I could not get that image out of my head through the whole design process.

Spindral is a generous but light shawl inspired by morning dew on spider webs. The garter stitch body is worked from the bottom up, the stitches are picked up along the long edge, and finally the attached border is knit on perpendicularly to the shawl body.

Lace patterns have both written out and charted instructions.

Spindral is available on Ravelry now and is 20% off through Wednesday, May 23.

TTT-Alonging

Right now I'm juggling two projects for the TTTKAL- my Zinone and a new shrug sample. I like to balance sample knitting with knitting other people's patterns, and I'm really enjoying both projects so far.

I'm really excited for this shrug. I really want more light and breezy cardigans for summer, and I think this is going to fit the bill exactly. I'm loving how the columns of lace look in this yarn, and the knitting itself is just one step above mindless, making it a great portable project.

Weekends and Borders

Well, I didn't get this shawl sample finished, but I got so much other stuff accomplished this weekend! I sewed a dress, I started seeds, I made pickles (I can taste them after work today and I am SO EXCITED I CAN'T WAIT), and I had my community theater audition for the summer musical.

I did manage to start the border on this beauty on Friday, and I'm absolutely pleased with how it's coming along. We're on the final stretch now, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that I'll have this ready to block and send to my TE this week. The rest of the week should be pretty quiet- my choir and handbell rehearsals are done for the summer, and if I get a callback for the musical, it won't be until Friday.

Linking up with Crafting On

Ridiculous

Okay, this lace is ridiculously engrossing. I have three rows left before I start the edging, and I almost don't want this section to end. If I'm already this besotted with it in all it's unblocked glory, how gorgeous is it going to be after a bath and some pins? Way too gorgeous. I can't wait.

My goal is to have this sample done and the pattern to my editor by the end of the weekend. I think it should be doable, if a bit tight. The high school musical is this weekend, and spring has finally sprung here in South Dakota, so we need to open up the house and clean ALL THE THINGS.

Oh, since I haven't mentioned it here, I'm doing Me-Made May this year! I finally have enough knitted items to give it a go, and four days in it really has me thinking critically about my wardrobe. I'm tracking my outfits over on Instagram. Are you participating in Me-Made May this year?

Starting My TTTKAL Projects

Yesterday was the start of the TTTKAL, and I jumped right in with Zinone! I went back and forth a little bit trying to decide which top to start first, but once I realized that my cocoon sample was on the needles that I need for Morning Mist, the decision was pretty much made for me.

I'm loving knitting this up again. Normally I hesitate before knitting a pattern more than once, but this is such a delightful knit. The different yarns also make it almost a completely different experience! This merino-tencel blend is much grippier than the bamboo I used in my cropped version.

I really don't know if I'm going to be able to get all the tops I want to knit during the KAL (what, Kat biting off more than she can chew??), but I'd love to get Zinone and the cocoon sample finished so I can at least get Morning Mist started. This KAL always reminds me how many more warm-weather knits I want in my wardrobe, and it's a great opportunity to get to work!

Finally, Some Lace!

I spent a good chunk of the weekend winding yarn and swatching for the TTTKAL, but I also wanted to make good headway on at least one of my shawl samples. Saturday evening I sat down with Netflix, some graph paper, and my garter and lace shawl and finally started the lace part.

I'm really loving how this is coming along so far. It took a couple tries to get the transition from garter stitch to lace just right, but I think it's going to be really gorgeous once it's blocked. I changed to a much bigger needle for the lace section, and the effect is just what I was looking for. I'm hoping to have this pattern ready for my editor within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for more on that.

I also bought a car! It's been a couple years since I've had one now, and with me moving to my own apartment in less than six weeks, it's about time I got one so I can go out of town without having to bug people for their vehicles. It's a 2000 Chevrolet Impala and I've named her Annabelle. She runs like a dream and has a ton of trunk space, and I'm looking forward to many adventures with her.

TTTKAL 2018 Prep!

It's that time again! Time for Shannon's Tops, Tanks, & Tees Knit Along! I've been waiting for the announcement for weeks, and I'm super excited for the projects I have planned for this year.

If you remember last year, I was working on a Corinne in some slinky black yarn that I absolutely adore. I mentioned being a little nervous about yardage, and then...nothing. The project disappeared from the blog. Well, I didn't have enough yarn. More than half of it was used up just in the fronts and backs, leaving not enough for the side panels and sleeves. So I ripped it out.

This year, I want to knit up that yarn into a Morning Mist. I think it'll look stunning in all black, and the yardage requirements aren't cutting it quite so close. I really did enjoy working with this yarn, so I'm excited to knit it up again- this time, into a finished project!

I also want to knit another Zinone in some yarn I dyed at a retreat two years ago. I dyed some great pinkish-purple merino-tencel fingering weight, and I've been trying to figure out what to knit with it since then. I love my cropped Zinone so much, I decided I need another one, this time full length, with lace only at the upper back.

I'm still working on my shawls, and I have a couple more design projects planned, but I'm still hoping to finish at least one of these tops during the KAL (but hopefully both!).

Gartering, Gartering

I'm still on the garter stitch body of this shawl. I think I'm just about ready to start the lace bit, but I still haven't ruled out another section of garter stitch. Before this last repeat, I still had over 70g of a 100g skein left, so we'll see where I'm at in a few rows.

This week is a bit hectic. At the library, we're getting ready to re-carpet the second floor (where my office is), and I need to get everything packed up and ready to move in a week and a half. There's also going to be some construction out behind the building which is going to affect us some, so I've been pretty swamped at my day job preparing for all that. 

A Set of Cloths

Well, my weekend ended up being very quiet. I ended up not feeling well for most of it, and after trying to force myself to work on shawl samples for several hours and just not feeling it, I set them aside for something simpler.

After finishing my bath mat (which still hasn't been blocked), I had just enough leftovers in each color to churn out a set of washcloths. Normally, I'm not one for matchy-matchy sets of things, but I really love these colors, and for some weird reason the thought of having a set of washcloths that match my bath mat made me swoon. So here we are.

There's not really much else to say about them. They're small, they're working up quickly, and I'm finding them way more charming than I ought to. 

Weekend Planning

The fun pink shawl is still moving along swimmingly! Like how I threw that swatch in the photo? I thought I'd change it up a bit for you all. I'm not quite ready to start that project yet, but I'm absolutely in love with the swatch.

Tonight my sister and I are going out to karaoke. I love karaoke, but it's been a long time since I've been up that late, so I'm definitely going to be chugging coffee all day! Otherwise, this is probably going to be a pretty slow weekend. I have some more things for my apartment that I need to bring over to my storage unit, I have some library books I want to read, and I'm sure I can find a couple loads of laundry to do.

I definitely need to go through my plants and give them a once-over. There are a couple of African violets that I wasn't quite able to bring back from the edge of death, and my shamrock definitely needs a trim. I also have a jade cutting that I need to make sure is rooting properly, I haven't been seeing much new progress from it since it went in the dirt.

What do you all have planned for the weekend?