Year of Projects #3 - A little progress is still progress

 

This will be a short and sweet update as I have been battling (and losing) with a migraine.  

I have made a little more progress on my 54 pickup lap blanket. 

and I started on my Contrapunctus socks.  It was a new shortrow heel construction and I really liked how intuitive it was. Now I am just knitting to the toe - which will be a shortrow  toe construction that is also new to me. 

I did take a 'me day' on Friday and was able to buy some yarn to try with the Wildernesse shawl. 

And yes, I did buy some more stitch markers....I used to have 60 of these little coloured rings, but while working on the 54 pickup I used what I had and couldn't find any more....Really, I do have a problem with buying stitch markers that you can read about here. 

I did the smallest amount of spinning - I am on the 2nd bobbin so I will have enough to ply, but it is slow going.  I just don't seem to have much spinning mojo these days. 

So that is my week.  I wasn't able to read everyone else's posts last week, so as soon as this migraine settles I will get caught up with everyone. 

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Year of Projects #2 - Extreme Double Knitting

 

I have wanted to knit the wilderness shawl for a long time and finally chose the colours and wool and so I began this week.  It became apparent as I reached the second repeat of the chart that this shawl was going to be heavy - more like worsted weight because of carrying the second colour along.  In my mind I imagined the shawl to be more light - and so on Saturday night I frogged the whole thing.  

before the frogging...

I am glad I stopped myself from continuing the pattern.  It does look cool, and I will find a lighter yarn and start again some time in the future.  

I was brave enough to finally cast on my 52 pickup.  I am calling it 54 pickup because I am including the two jokers.  I did as the designer suggested and took a deck of cards and randomly shuffled them and intermixed them face up and face down to create a truly random and unique layout.  

my chart for 6 x 9 lap blanket
Alasdair has calculated that the chance of someone else knitting the same order as I have randomly chosen is 4.16 x 10 to the power of 87 to 1.

And here is my progress as of last night. 

Side One
Can you see the King, Jack and 4 emerging?

Side two
Can you see a Jack, Joker and 6 emerging? 

Each row involves carrying three colours and double-knitting each pair of k1p1 stitches to create the double-knit effect of the front of the card on one side and the back of the card on the other.  There are 135 pairs of stitches so each row is 270 stitches.  I use 6 charts for each row and have to remember that on every even row I must arrange the charts in the reverse order. I missed that instruction the first time and had to think back the 270 stitches. Phew. Definitely a mindful knit!

No wonder Alasdair calls it Extreme Double Knitting!

So today some time I will cast on some socks to have some mindless knitting on the go as well. 

Hopefully this week brings less frogging and more progress.  

Year of Projects - Year 15 begins

 

Well yes, Year 15 has begun, but I have not been Yopping for that long.  I will have to look back though my archives to see when I started....be right back.  

Okay. I started in Year of Projects 2016/2017 and was pretty consistent until part way through 2022/23 - So I think that makes this my 8th year.  

Enough with the facts - let's get down to the plan. 

I have had two patterns in my queue since the beginning of the year and it took me a while to order the yarn for them  

Wilderness Shawl and 52 Card Pickup 

The Wilderness Shawl will be a new-to-me construction of knitting a colourwork shawl in the round and then steeking it.  It doesn't escape my notice that the work steek has the word 'eek' in it.  I started this yesterday and so far so good.  Progress picture will happen next week.

The 52 Pickup is a double knitting pattern by Alasdair Post-Quinn and I will make the blanket version with each card of the deck, including the two jokers.  

I also have another of Amelia Archer's designs -  Contrapunctus ready to start.  I love her knit loop ideas, and in fact took her idea and designed a sock for this year's SuperSock World Championship. Me Too! Me Too! will be available for sale in September.  

This past week I finished two pairs of socks to celebrate Canada Day.  Amelia Archer's Charmed Diamond socks and one of the Supersock World Championship designs - Sassia by L'Atelier des Glènettes. 

Yesterday was the start of Tour de Fleece and I have over a pound of fleece to spin up - not sure how much I will get done, or what I will make with it, but it is great to be back on my wheel after such a long hiatus. 

The rest of my plan is as follows:

test knits for Supersock World Championship 2026

new sock design of my own

a gnome or two 

an animal/wild animal friend or two

knit something with my handspun

at least one dragon 

a toque to match my latest purple gansey

fingerless gloves - also to match my latest gansey 

Yes, I am back and looking forward to catching up on the other bloggers who are taking part in Year of Projects 15 on Ravelry.