October Stats

Happy Halloween!

I knit up one stole this month (Birnam Woods Stole).

I used a total of 2.5 skeins/ 1,090 yards of yarn. The yarn I knit for the test knit doesn't count, since it's not from my stash. So technically I did knit more than what the numbers show. 

WIP Wednesday - Spit Splice

Okay, confession time. I think it's hard for me to push myself to step out of my comfort zone and try new things or learn new techniques. Even though I have been knitting for several years now, I have not learned how to properly join a new ball of yarn to an existing project. Up till now I have been **gasp in horror** tying a knot in order to join a new ball of yarn. I am aware that this is really awful and I shouldn't do this, but I do it anyway. I did try spit splicing, one of the proper techniques to join a ball of yarn, a couple of times to no success. And I have to admit it was probably only a half-hearted attempt once a couple years ago.

 As I mentioned in the last blog post, I'm doing a test knit for Anne (AKA Knitspot), my knitting idol. Seriously, I want to be her when I grow up. I know it's totally unacceptable to tie a knot to join a ball of yarn. I would die of embarrassment before giving Anne a finished piece of knitting that had a a knot that I had tied in the middle of it. Hopefully, she's not reading this.

I decided to watch a couple of youtube videos on the technique. After watching it, I attempted to spit splice my yarn. It worked! Yay! I learned a new way to join a new ball of yarn to an existing project. Give me any two skeins of yarn that are 100% natural animal fiber and I can join them! Okay, I realize I should take it down a notch. The knitting gods have a way of hearing overconfidence and tend to silence it with humility.

WIP Wednesday - Test Knit

I am working on a test knit for Knitspot. I'm using one of the new Knitspot colorways in Bare Naked Wools Breakfast Blend Fingering Weight. The yarn is soft, springy and lovely to work with. The pattern is really intuitive and quite addicting to knit. I really like the texture and depth of this wrap.

Purple

I received my FIFC October Club yarn this week. It's Briar Rose Stella. It's a Merino Silk Blend. I love how beautiful the color is. The kit also comes with a lovely semi circular shawl named Zinfandel. I want to use that shawl as part of my Lace A-Z challenge. Unfortunately, because the shawl name begins with Z, it will be a long while before I get to knit this shawl up.

WIP Wednesday

Cluaranach - This is my "C" for my Lace A-Z Challenge. I finished the first repeat of the Thistle Flower Section.

Pea Vines - I started a new shawl for Oct LKA challenge. This is challenging because it starts with 300 + stitches on the needles. Each row takes over half an hour to knit. Plus the dark green color makes it hard to see at night. 

Birnam Woods Stole

Pattern: Birnam Woods Stole from Knitspot

Yarn: The Woolen Rabbit Opulence in Blue Moon

Needles: US Size 4 and US Size 6

Started on: Oct. 1st

Finished on: Oct. 8th

Comments/Modifications: The only reason that this project got finished so quickly was because I was sick with a cold and took a few days off of work. In between napping, I was working on this stole. This is my my October LKA Challenge.

I knit a custom size. I knit the tall width and I knit 9 repeats of Section A, 1 repeat of Section B, and 5 repeats of Section C per side. The pattern was straightforward. However, there were a couple of tricky parts (the hem construction and the grafting of the center) that required careful attention.

The yarn I used was The Woolen Rabbit Opulence in Blue Moon. I love the color of this yarn. It has a really beautiful shine to it. It is really addicting to knit with. The yarn is soft like butter and so luxuriously wonderful. I have a few more skeins of this yarn in my stash. Even so, I really want more of it.

Overall, I really enjoyed knitting the pattern. I think the pattern and yarn really complimented each other and the results is wonderfully beautiful. I am keeping this stole for myself.

WIP Wednesday - Cheviot Hills

I've been and am continuing to fight a cold. This has given me some more knitting time than usual. I actually finished up my Birnam Woods Stole last night! I'll blog more about that later this week.

All I have to share today is my Cheviot Hills Shawl. I'm using Bare Naked Wools in Breakfast Blend Fingering Weight. I really love how soft the yarn is and how beautiful the color is.

This project is my mindless knitting. I only work a few rows here and there.

September Stats

September was a good knitting month. I knit up three shawls (Snowflakes in Cedarwood, Artichaut and Gray Garden).

I used a total of 2.5 skeins/ 2,420 yards of yarn

WIP Wednesday - New Beginning

 Birnam Woods - This is my B for my Lace A-Z Challenge. It's also my October LKA (Lace Knitter's Anonymous) project. I just started it yesterday.

This stole has an interesting construction for the hem. The hem is knit sideways (see first photo).









Then it is turned 90 degrees and the stitches are picked up along the side (see second photo).






After I've picked up all the stitches, I'm ready to start Section A of the stole (see third photo).

I'm using yarn from The Woolen Rabbit in Opulence. This yarn is really luxurious and so soft. It knits up beautifully.