A Very Small Knit Along

At the Madison Knitting Guild a couple months ago, my friend Marsha and I decided to do a knit-along. Every month we swear we aren't going to be tempted by the vendors at the meeting, and most most months we fail.

One of the vendors  was Ewetopia, a store about an hour away, in Viroqua. Owner Kate Ashley-Wright is a talented dyer and designer, and there was lots of yummy stuff to look at and pet. One of her kits on display was the Winter Ridge poncho (she calls it a cowl shawl). We didn't think much about it until we noticed that a good number of the other knitters were wearing it.

Then we fell in love with it, and decided to knit it together in a gray cashmere/silver mohair  combination.

It's good thing that we decided to work on it together. You start at the bottom with a loopy edging with is very pretty, but also quite tricky to figure out. It took both of us to figure out the directions and get it right.

I am sure Marsha will finish far ahead of me. Not only does she knit faster -- she's a picker and I'm a thrower -- but she is retired! That's OK. I love the way this is coming out and it will be worth the wait.

And We're Off ... A Year of Sock Knitting

It started yesterday -- but I'm sure you could jump in today ...

Knitting Sarah has launched a year in which we will knit on socks every single day. I think that it's impossible to knit enough socks -- everyone wants a pair, right? -- so I like this idea.

I started by adding a few rows to this sock:

Plain Vanilla Sock in self-striping Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

If you love socks -- or want to learn how -- jump over to Sarah's web site.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday WIP

I am just in love with the Garland Shawl, which I'm knitting as part of a KAL. The construction is so clever. The shawl is knit from end to end, with three sections that run the full length: an i-cord edging, a garter stitch section, and the leafy garland border. This isn't the best picture because I had to use a flash. I'll get a better one when it stops raining here!

Today we had the Farewell Celebration for our 8th-graders. I'm tired, but in a good way. This was a great group of kids -- really, the best ever -- and I am sad that my time with them has come to an end. My broken leg kept me from participating in the more crowded events of the day, but I made sure I could participate in the ceremony and the reception for the parents. Teaching can be so hard; many days leave me feeling like I'm not helping anyone. But to receive so many hugs and thank-you's makes it all seem worthwhile.

Ready, Set, Swift!

My main goal for this evening is to swift (is that a verb?) this skein of yarn:

My Spring Green skein from Knitted Wit arrived Saturday, just in time for the Monday cast-on for KAL of Michelle's Garland Shawl. Michelle designed the Zen Rain Shawlette, which is one of my most-worn shawlettes. It's pretty and versatile and just plain easy to wear.

Garland looks like it has all of those same qualities -- plus, it has an intriguing architecture: You knit it from end to end, the long way. It also incorporates beads -- something I've wanted to add to my knitting for a while. There are two versions of the shawl; I'm going for wide and shallow.

I ordered this colorway of Lorajean's Cashy Lite (80/10/10 Merino/Cashmere/Nylon, 495 yards). It's my first taste of Knitted Wit yarn and I have to tell you that it is smooshy!

It's not too late to join us. Believe it or not, this is the first KAL I've ever done. Michelle writes great patterns. Dive into your stash or hit the yarn store tomorrow -- and cast on with me!