My Finished Shawl, TTL Mystery Shawl 18 Knit Along

July 27th was the day our last clue arrived for the mystery shawl knit along, provided by designer Kirsten Kapur / Through the Loops.  We knitters had until August 27th to enter our finished shawl photos to the Finished Shawls, TTL Mystery Shawl 18 thread at Ravelry for a chance to win prizes.    That means all done knitting, washed, blocked and photos taken.

On August 3rd I added my finished shawl photo to the thread. Finally the colors looked right as I took the shawl outdoors to get some photos.  Taking selfies of this long shawl on my own body was not easy, but finally I got it right!

MKAL finished shawl
Vine Pops shawl

Never before have I worn or knit a shawl like this one. It took nearly 2 skeins of yarn. As you can see, the lace pattern ended up gorgeous. I am very happy with the end result, and truthfully quite amazed that I could knit this!

Clue #1 was given out June 22nd, so in little over a month I had knit myself this beautiful accessory. Too bad I live in Florida where I will seldom get a chance to wear it. I will take it with me on every trip back to New Hampshire.

This shawl was named VINE POPS and the pattern can be purchased here on Ravelry.

The MKAL Story in a Nutshell, or Longer

yellow and blue balls of yarn
Balls of yarn (Miss Babs “Cumin” and “Coventry”) are ready for knitting

As I finish up with this fun event, looking back I first thought that I may have chosen my yarn differently. I love the Woodbury from Miss Babs, which is soft and wonderful, but I wasn’t too sure about the yellow “cumin” color.  The light blue “Coventry” is so pretty, I would probably use it again in another project.

Some knitters began running out of Color A yarn (my color A is yellow “cumin”) during Clue 3. The designer, Kirsten Kapur, suggested that I might want to use a third, contrast color, at this point. My yarn stash is pretty small, so all I could come up with was anther Miss Babs yarn called “Canyon Wren”.  This became my Color C, which was added in Clues 3, 4 and 6.

(This shawl pattern is available for anyone to purchase although the MKAL is just about over.)

Now that the project is finished, I do like my color choices.  I think adding the color C (rust red) was a good choice as well.  Not many knitters did that, so mine is a unique in that way.

knitting a shawl
Color C added in Clue #3 because I ran out of yarn

My stitch markers were a life saver, but during Clue 5 the markers moved! This really threw me off. When I counted my stitches they didn’t stay the same between the markers and I didn’t know if it was my mistake or the pattern. Someone in the forum said to look at the chart pattern, which would show this happening.  That did help me even though I can’t read a chart well.  (Something else to learn.)

I ended up okay, but made a bunch of mistakes during this clue. I did a lot of counting too, and the fact that Kirsten gave us counts for all the rows in her pattern was super helpful.  Somehow the lace ended up looking fine – that was pure luck!  It is so pretty.

finished knitting the shawl
Shawl is done!

I was very worried about the bind off, which was like picot flowers. It looked very involved, and I could easily see myself messing it up. Since it is an edging, it would stand out, and I didn’t want that mistake to be obvious.  Clue 6 was one of the easiest to knit, except for the bind-off.  Kirsten kindly created a video to show the bind off, but I still didn’t feel confident about it.

Mystery shawl knit-along in lace

When I visited the “Clue 6” forum at Ravelry, I saw that some other knitters had also decided not to do the fancy bind-off. Their shawls looked great. I did a regular bind-off and it looks fine.

Lots of Firsts For Me

I’ve never knit lace.
I’ve never followed such an intricate pattern.
I’ve never knit an asymmetrical shawl.
I’ve never before done a knit along, mystery or otherwise.
I had never done a cdd or sk2p stitch.
This was the first knitting pattern I have ever purchased online.

Because I have conquered all these firsts, and ended up with a decent, wearable shawl, I have the confidence to continue trying difficult, more advanced patterns. Kirsten has so many beautiful items, with patterns for sale. Since I live in a hot climate, most of what I knit is for my daughter who lives up north, or for me to take when I travel.

finished shawl mystery knit along
Nature and knitting – the finished Vine Pops shaw.

I love to knit, and to learn new things.  The only way to expand our knowledge is to step out of our comfort zone and dive into something new.

I’m wondering what will be next.  A summer shawl knit along is now offered, so maybe that……….

Keep Reading the Blog

How to Knit An Easy Cable Hat – Part 1

For my trip to New England this fall I want a new, warm hat. The free pattern Maine Cables Hat is what I chose and will document my knitting along the away to encourage first time cable knitters.

Pam's avatar by Pam

Mystery Knit Along Clue Three Changes Made, Spoiler Images

I’m blogging about my journey as I attempt to complete a MKAL (mystery knit along) challenge.  Well, for me it’s a challenge.  I have spoiler images on this page, if you are beginning this KAL!

In the Through the Loops forum at Ravelry we are sharing progress, problems, questions, and ideas while knitting an asymmetrical shawl from clues doled out over the course of about six weeks by the designer. I’ve been behind from the beginning, but only by a few days.  This requires a LOT of knitting.  Far more knitting than I have ever done in such a short amount of time, and in a pattern far more difficult than I have ever attempted.

It takes discipline and concentration and I am having fun!

Although the shawl requires 2 skeins of yarn, a number of knitters were worried about running out of yarn.  Some ran out, and I am one of them.  As I began Clue #3 which would have had 3 rows of color A (my yellow color), I knew there wasn’t enough.

mystery shawl knit-along clue three
Starting Clue 3 and realizing the yellow yarn is gone!

I decided to ask in the forum if anyone had simply changed to Color B, or if that would mean running out of that color eventually.

The designer, Kirsten Kapur, suggested I could use a contrast color from my stash, which could also be added in later in the pattern. I liked this idea, so I wouldn’t have to stop knitting and fall further behind. Many people have already moved on to Clue Four at this point.  I guess I will also add this new color in somewhere else.  It’s my backup if Color B begins to get short.

The trouble was, my stash of yarn is pretty small. And I needed fingering weight in a color that would go with light blue and cumin yellow! Probably a pretty green or another shade of blue would have been the best choice, but I didn’t have either of those. So to finish up my Clue #3 rows I substituted a rust color for the yellow.

Now my shawl will contain three colors, but only little of the third color.  I hope in the long run it will all look okay.

shawl knitting clue 3
Added Color C, which is rust to finish up Clue #3

I have now begun Clue #4, but it’s a toughie, so I’ll wait until morning, when my mind is fresh and full of coffee, to do more knitting.

By the way, some people are actually knitting 2 of these shawls at once! And many knitters get the clue finished within a day! Then there are those who have only just decided to start, or are behind like me. At least I don’t feel like I am the worst knitter in the group.

Miss bags rust color ball of yarn
“Canyon Wren” is a rust color yarn and is now my Color C for this project.

 

Finishing Up The Spindrift Shawl

The Spindrift shawl was a free pattern download offered by designer Helen Stewart. I appreciate having something like this crescent shawl pattern to practice on.  The pattern is fairly simple, but I did learn how to do a picot edge bind-off.  You can read more about how I came to be knitting this shawl on my first post here.

The fingering yarn I chose to use was from Miss Babs, in one of the Wild Iris, Yummy-2ply colors named “Sorcerer”.  It closely matches the colors in the designers image of the finished shawl, and I thought hers was lovely.

To go with Sorcerer, I chose a lavender color yarn from Mrs. Crosby called “Monkey Orchid”.  I will use that color to finish the edge.

Shawl yarn
Shawl yarn from Miss Babs in fingering weight, and lavender DK by Mrs. Crosby

Notes on the Finished Shawl

I had to reference a video about making the picot edging. (Find it on my Day 2 blog post.)

I knew I would probably not have enough yarn because my skein was shorter than the recommended length. The lavender color was attached for the picot edging and once I got the hang of that bind-off, it went quickly.

Still left, the weaving in of ends, washing and blocking. I have never blocked anything, but I have the boards to do it with. My time is taken up with the MKAL I am working on (and am behind!). So this shawl will have to wait.

spindrift shawl
The Spindrift Shawl is finished
Screen Shot 2018-07-05 at 4.07.51 PM
The lavender picot edging



Finally I found the photos of this finished shawl. This was a very good beginner pattern with practice for yarn-overs and doing a picot edge. It’s a small shawl so it knits up fast. Download the Spindrift pattern when you sign up for the Curious Handmade workshop. See details here.

Spindrift shawl
My first shawl knitting project

Knitting Cowls or Infinity Scarves

knitting the Honey Cowl

When I began knitting, cowls were of great interest to me. They are often called “infinity scarves” as they are usually knit on a circular needle, in the round, like a hat, but on longer needles. They can be small to fit over the head, with a single wrap, or long to wrap twice.

Long scarves were my preferred item when I was beginning to knit because they gave me lots of practice using the same stitches over and over. But scarves use up lots of yarn. A single wrap cowl does not.

The difference is that the cowl is knit using circular needles.  It creates a long, wide loop and some people pull them up to cover their heads.

Some cowls are knit back and forth, like a regular scarf, then connected at the ends. This happens when the desired pattern, such as a cable, can’t be achieved by working in the round.

Free Cowl Patterns

At Purl Soho find a number of free cowl patterns (and some beautiful and unique yarn).  Some are super easy like the Slip Stitch Summer Cowl, and Floats Cowl.  Others require the use of cable needles and other more difficult stitches that require brainpower to complete (for me).

The Syncopated Cowl is lovely and is pretty in a chunky type of yarn.  Purl Soho also has beautiful linen yarn, which is perfect for those of us living in warm climates.

Ravelry also has many free cowl patterns.
See links to Ravelry designer patterns below.

Single Wrap Cowl

Malabrigo Neck Thingie is a single wrap cowl.
Darn Knit Stripe It! cowl uses self-striping yarn.
Fishermans Rib Cowl – This free pattern page gives the gauge and needle size needed for 4 different yarn weights!  Pretty cool.

Keramos (pictured below) is a double layer cowl knit in stranded colorwork and then enhanced with embroidery (if you want). This would not be a cowl for a beginner as you should be familiar with knitting colorwork, or Fair Isle. I do love that a softer yarn can be added inside as wool can sometimes feel scratchy.

lined wool cowl Keramos knitting

Double Wrap Cowl

Honey Cowl (below) – I have made this one in autumn colors. It was easy, and came out thick and plush.
Pelham Bay Cowl is very basic, doing stockinette stitch throughout. Or add some texture yourself once you get started! (You must register to download)

Double wrap honey cowl pattern
Wraps twice around the neck

These are harder to find for free, but there are a lot of pretty patterns to pay for.Search Pinterest, or other online places to find more free patterns (or purchase one).

Read Anatomy of a Cowl at the Knitter’s Review site for lots of cowl info.

Please Keep Reading