follow that arrow

Ysolda's Mystery, Choose-your-own-adventure, KAL - follow your arrow - has come to a conclusion...

This has been a wonderful experience, overall.  I loved working towards a new clue each week far more than I expected to, and the small thrill of not really knowing what you were knitting was a different kind of buzz.  I guess it was also partly the motivation!  Although, for anyone who's knitted a bit of lace, the charts from Clue 2 onwards did give away the basic shape to a degree.

The lace was really quite simple and relatively easy to memorise, but the construction and some techniques did give enough challenge to keep you interested.  More than once the lace lulled me into a false sense of security and I was forced to rip back!

I'm pleased with the performance of the Bendigo Woollen Mill Luxury 4ply, too.  It's blocked out very soft, and there is no sign of pilling or fuzzing sometimes found with the 10ply of the same yarn.  I think if I were to knit this pattern again though, I'd either use a larger needle (I used a 3.75mm) or laceweight yarn and get that real lightness in the fabric that makes lace "lace".

I'd also like to give the cast-off edge a light steam press still, just to flatten out the slight rolling the stretchy bind-off method has created.  I'm not sure how to get around that edge roll another way?

Obviously, the very nature of the optional clues each release meant lots of combinations and interpretations, but with nearly 3,500 projects listed on Ravelry, there are so many interesting versions; it's well worth taking a look or checking out #followyourarrow on Instagram.

 Ysolda's patterns are always a bit of a treat, especially those that explore her use of texture, and I really am very happy with my version.  I'm so pleased I took part in the KAL - well worth it and would totally recommend it if another opportunity arose!

frustrations

It's been one of those weeks unfortunately, where I can't seem to take a trick with my projects...

Firstly, with the thought of entry deadlines looming, I cast on a wee baby cardigan for one of my Red Hill Show entries.  In an effort to be thrifty I grabbed some stash wool, but it was truly a bad, bad choice of yarn for this gauge and project.

The wool is some Spotlight 4ply that I picked up on a whim because it was on sale, but the old adage of "you get what you pay for" has never rung truer.  It's labelled as pure new wool but reality is; it's cheap, and scratchy, and I had a terrible time getting consistent tension with it.  Not really desirable qualities for a Show entry.

Then,  I began the 5th clue on my Follow your Arrow shawl only to discover something had gone awry with the 4th clue.

 Try as I might, I could NOT work it out, and I ended up ripping it back all the way to the end of the 3rd clue. 

I'm incredibly frustrated with myself regarding these two projects. I knew that it was a risky yarn choice by the time I got through the border lace, so why did I persevere? Why??  The shawl pattern is by no means difficult but it does seem to require an unexpected level of concentration, and I dropped the ball on that front.   I think partially because I was so focused on finishing each clue before the next was released? 

So with this in mind, and a deep breath, I put the baby cardigan in the op-shop pile, and re-started clue #4 on the shawl.  The silver lining was I got to do the alternate clue (4B) to what I had originally chosen (4A).  After seeing finished shawls on the Ravelry group board, I really preferred the other clue but I’d already finished most of 4A and didn’t want to rip it back. 

Ahem.  The Universe sending me a message or something??

I can see that I need to step back and try to find my way back to the enjoyment the process of creating gives me.  I'm too caught up with finishing, meeting deadlines and worrying about the list ahead to breathe and enjoy the present.  It's a direct reflection of other areas of my life at the moment, but I don't think I fully recognised this until I sat down to work out the woes plaguing these two current projects.

With all this in mind, my new focus is looking forward (but not too far forward).  I’m going to take it a step at a time, starting with these three goals:

• Finish Follow your Arrow by Feb 21st, to be in the running for the prizes on the Ravelry group!
• Get Peasy on the needles
• Write a firm but small list of entries for the Red Hill Show and get started one at a time (entry forms are due March 7^th, articles due by the 19th).  Follow your Arrow will be one entry – double dipping for the win!

Wip-tastic week

It's been a catch up week for me this one - I've got a few WIP's on the go that I'd really like to try and knock over within the next fortnight, because there are some exciting planned projects waiting in the wings!

Firstly, I've made some progress on my two Ferris Wheel cardigans for my nieces.  

The violet version is done, barring the small amount of seaming on the pockets and weaving in the ends...

and the silver version is onto the body, probably about 1/3 of the body is done?  It's a little hard to photograph at this stage, but as I've said before - this pattern is one of those ones that just ticks along and before you know it you've done another section.

I've also managed to keep up with the Follow your Arrow KAL clues, which has really surprised me!

Again, it's not the easiest thing to photograph.  The colour is more purple IRL, less lipstick pink, and it's getting rather large, here at the end of the third clue (two more to go).  I can't wait to get it off the needles and onto the blocking wires, to open up those lace motifs.

I've done 1B, 2A, 3B (BAB) which have perhaps been the more "classic" styles.  Loving it so far, and very happy with my choices at each stage; it's been such an enjoyable process so far.

I've decided to do 4A for the next clue.  It's been noted by ysolda that it's the more challenging of the two clues this round and I feel like I've taken the safer route thus far so it's time for me to shake it up a bit!

If you're interested, you can check out the SPOILER posts on Ravelry here, or on Instagram at #followyourarrowkal

Til next week - happy knitting  ♥

follow your arrow KAL

So anyone in Australia knows how freaking hot it is at the moment. 

This is how we attempted to cool our little 1950's, non-airconditioned flat the last few days - wet towels in breezeways with pedestal fans.  It works for a short while.

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For those of you visiting with me here at kgirlknits from overseas, I won't bore you with the details, but if you're interested you can read about it here.  It's ridonkulous, to say the least.

Instead, I want to share with you what's been occupying my thoughts this last week.

  

Like a LOT of people, I'm participating in Ysolda's "Follow your Arrow" KAL that commenced Jan 13th, 2014.

I'm so excited by this project - it's a mystery KAL which has been done before of course, but this time there's another twist.  Each clue release gives 2 options.  You choose your path, with 32 possible outcomes!

As a kid who loved the Choose your Own Adventure books of the 80's, this was one I couldn't pass up.  Is anyone else participating?  Who else remembers those books?!  

I knew I wanted a solid colour for this shawl, but sadly I had nothing in the required weight and yardage.  So very sad ;)

So after a long, LONG search online and in person, I settled on Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4ply in the Fuschia colourway.  It fit the budget, was in stock, and the idea was that by ordering locally it would get here quickly.

harrumph.

Still waiting, and now I'm desperately trying to avoid spoilers on Ravelry!  I want to know as little about this pattern as possible, and truly leave the outcome to chance, just like in the books.

So that's my week, really.  Extreme weather and a nostalgic collision of present and past.  

Until next week - stay cool, guys xx  (or warm, if the polar vortex is affecting your world)