Progress Shot

I didn't get as far as I had wanted, real life stuff kept getting in the way! Some of it was really silly, like the grocery store I go to being remodeled, couldn't find a darn thing I was looking for! So it took me twice as long as it usually does to spend too much money on food.  But here is the progress shot of my ColourMart Scrap Set shawl......

Three of the five colors have now at least made an appearance, but those rows are starting to get longer!

~M

Let the Games Begin

Out in the real world many athletes have starting competing to see who is the fastest, strongest, and most graceful.  They have spent countless hours training for the games that are taking place in London, England this year.

In my world, knitters have been planning, swatching, winding yarn and generally warming up their needles.

Do the two compare?  Not really, but both are demonstrations of determination.  Both are putting skills to the test, and both are supposed to be fun! (Well the knitting part anyway!)

There are knitting groups all over Ravelry that are participating in this years fun.  The ColourMart Group decided on a group challenge using scrap sets.  Let's look at those scrap sets for a minute.

Can you believe that they call these "scraps"?  Each of those skeins is 50 grams, any other yarn store would sell those as "full skeins" but in the ColourMart World we are calling them scraps.  (I am really glad I was not the poor person who was charged with winding 50gr skeins off cones to package for this challenge!)

Now for the challenge part.  Each of those bags is a project for me.  All the colors have to be in the project, but not necessarily all the the yarn.  I could double or triple the yarns if I wanted, use one color for just a small accent, if I wanted, knit anything at all that I want, so long as I use all the colors.  And, I couldn't cast on until Opening Ceremonies of those big games in London, and must have cast off by the end of Closing Ceremonies in London.

I am starting with the blues project, and cast on after dinner last night. (Well after Opening Ceremonies, but this girl has a day job!)

This is what I have so far.

The first two blues are very close in hue, you can not tell in this picture that where the shawl is getting darker is actually alternating, single rows, of two colors.  So far, I am really liking the simplicity of this one.  Let's see if I keep feeling that way as she grows!

In Other Knitting News......

Chart B of Sangria Lace. (Every time I type Sangria Lace for some reason I start hearing Chantilly Lace in my head, I am driving everyone around me nuts singing that song!)  That is the triangle version in Lara's Creations Starlight.  You can see the colors starting to get darker in this shot, and the fancy clusters on the spine stitch!

And the Square Version.

Looks like I have a lot on my needles this week! What about you?

M

I had a post title in mind

Earlier today, when I was folding laundry I had a thought, which led to another thought and by the time the clothes were all in their respective owners basket I had a great idea for a blog post title!

Wish I could remember what it was now.

It has been the usual whirlwind of a week around here, work, kids, more work, some knitting, weeding the veggies, which only made it easier for the rabbits to find the perfect ones to eat!  I have been winding yarn ready for the ColourMart Scrap Set Challenge.  Two of the five skeins behaved like little angels, wound nicely into cakes of yarn ready to knit, the third I tried...well she was determined to be 50 little bitty balls of yarn.  I have given the last two a stern talking to and will wind them later this evening, or tomorrow! I still haven't quite decided what to knit, although there are a few ideas bouncing around in my empty head!

Chart B of Sangria, the Bad Cat Designs Summer Project was released today.  I finished up the repeats of Chart A just in time, but promptly got side tracked doing other things so I haven't actually started Chart B yet!

As a reminder, I am using Starlight from Lara's Creations in Sangria, with itty, bitty, gold tone beads for highlights for the triangle shawl.

I could have stopped Chart A here, but I went on and knit the two additional repeats to bring me to this :

You can almost see the beads in these pictures but not too much of the design, there are twisted stitches that will really blossom when this piece is blocked.  I can't wait to see it.

In fact, I couldn't wait so much that I might have cast on another one, as a square blanket, and I might have pulled it out and stuck a bunch of pins in it to get a better look!

Not the most perfect center start in the world, but good enough for a baby blanket!

To quote a favorite knitting designer of mine, I have to run so I can "Knit On!"

~M

Sangria

For those who are in the group, but haven't looked today, the first chart is posted for Sangria!  I finally wound the gorgeous skein of yarn that I got from Lara's Creations and dove straight in, no swatching, no hesitation, do not pass go and collect two hundred dollars!

You can't really tell from the picture but the yarn has an added sparkle and is oh so soft and cushy (highly technical term that!) to knit with.  In the upper corner you can see how dark the yarn will be by the time I reach the end and I can't wait to see the colors progress as I go.

The colors in this yarn are so appropriate for me to be knitting with right now. This weekend I lost a friend to Ovarian Cancer and this yarn reminds me of the embroidery on her wedding dress.  Rather than remember how she looked and sounded while on chemo, these are the images  that I want to see when I think of her!

Strong, passionate, determined, fiercely loyal and one of the most caring souls I have known. 

~M

Shamelessly Stolen from a FaceBook Post

I saw this and it resonated! 

(Thanks Miss Stephanie!)

Not to mention I have no knitting to share, but the swatch is up on the Sangria group for anyone with more time for their needles than I have tonight!

~M