Year of Projects: Week 14

I have had a very productive week.  I still didn't finish the test socks for Ladder to the Sky but I did accomplish a lot of things.

I was at my dad's house last week Sunday and my brother RJ reminded me about the scarf I had promised him from so long ago.  He even offered to pay me money from his piggy bank if I would make him a scarf sooner.  I couldn't take the money from a 12-year old boy.  Besides, he couldn't open it and it was already on the needles.  But I can say that my brother RJ will be able to get his scarf before his birthday and it is finished!

It just has a couple of ends to weave in and a creative way to give it over.  Almost immediately, I started on the matching hat, the Irish Hiking Hat.  I just have one more cable repeat before I start on the decreases.  It's a pretty easy knit.  It has a good chance of being finished this week.

Now to the next project.  I have to start from the beginning of this little dilemma.  I borrowed a set of Harmony Tips from the Knitting Circle on Tuesday.  I have never used them before and it was available in the size I would need for the Earth & Sky Scarf, that I would not be starting for a good couple of months due to the other projects I have to finish first.  I brought four skeins plus one caked yarn to the Circle as well to get some opinions as to what colour yarn I was going to use.  Judy, a fellow knitter and crocheter chose Tanis Fibre Arts Blue Label in Charcoal, Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk in a Teal colour and Springtree Road Muscadine in Dark Aoife.  They are beautiful together and reminded me of a dragonfly.  I went home with the tips and my yarn selection and like a good little knitter, I picked up the Irish Hiking Hat, and continued to work on it.

The next day, after a long day of walking around Downtown Toronto, I came home, looked at a ball of dish cloth cotton and I could swear I could see the Harmony Tips calling me saying "You want to use me!"  The next thing I know, I'm clearing the dresser in my room and setting up my swift and started to cake the Tanis Charcoal and the STR Dark Aoife.  Before I went to bed, the Earth & Sky Shawl was well on it's way.

Believe me, there was determination to do it to.  I have never had to start a project 4 times, but I did it for this one.  First time, I didn't understand how the colour order would work and I started with the wrong colour.  Ripped it out to start again.  The second time, I had the colours all in the proper place. I was supposed to do a garter stitch section.  I did stockinette.  Ripped it out and started again.  Third time, I did start with the correct colour but mixed up the order.  After that, I realized that the Cascade Teal yarn was having issues with me.  I kept getting huge clumps of yarn because somehow, both ends of the yarn ended up in the middle and would both come out in tangled mess.  As much as I love that Teal colour, the patience with that yarn was at an end.  I grabbed my Miss Babs Cosmic Hand Painted Sock yarn in Inkwell I got for the last shipment from the Cookie Sock Club and put it on the swift.  I ripped the entire project back out and started again.

I could not be happier with the progress that I'm making.  I learned a lot from the process and for anyone else who is doing this shawl, from the beginning, just do 2 separate balls of yarn for colour A & B.  It'll make your life so much easier for Section 2.  I'm still debating on the size since it does come in Small, Medium and Large.  If anyone has done this pattern before, let me know what size you did and how it fit.