I’ve been enjoying reading all the end-of-year posts for those YOP’ers who are working the July year-start. One of my favorite parts of this group is seeing all of your plans – keep ’em coming 🙂
This week, here’s what I’ve worked on:
Roses of Avon shawl: I have the main body pattern of floral lace done. I am 4 rows away from finishing the first border and then have 40 more rows of the final outer border to complete. I talked with my friend, Jocelyn, who owns Serendipidye Fibers and we decided to keep this as a single color shawl and not add in a second color for the outer border since it would bump up the cost of the kits quite a bit. The base yarn is a beautiful alpaca/silk/cashmere fingering weight and I love the soft celadon color she picked for the sample. I designed this one a decade ago for a Shakespeare-themed lace shawl club I hosted, and I’m happy to say that the design is still fun to knit. I would really like to get this finished up in July so I can block it, update the pattern and get some photos of this single-color version for her as well.
Next, after finishing up the Faded Socks (see my FO post on those) I’ve cast on a couple of new pairs of socks. I’ve been working on a pair of simple sportweight “slipper socks” as a mindless project. I’m using two colors of Madeline Tosh Work Sock Sport for these, which will be a gift for a friend of my mum’s. They are working up very quickly and are super squishy. I’ve also cast on for the Bevy Socks, designed by Miriam Felton, using Spun Right Round’s 80/20 sock base in the colorway “Float on By”. Must be all the bright sunny days we’re having but I’m really drawn to cheerful colors right now as opposed to my usual tendency towards gray and grayed-out colors.
The Tour de Fleece is underway as well, and I’m happy to report I’ve finished up the second of the 4 colors in the gradient pack of mixed BFL I’m spinning. I have 2 oz of each of the 4 colors, and I’m spinning these up into a 2-ply fingering weight. Not sure of a final project for them, but I certainly would have enough for a pair of striped socks or, with 8 oz or so finished yarn, I’d have enough for a shawl. (I am going to try to actually knit with some of the handspun I’ve produced this year! It tends to wind up in storage bin and I have a lot of great handspun yarn I could use but don’t get around to using for one reason or another.) Here it is with the bittersweet orange skein I spun up at the end of June. I’m currently working on the chocolate brown in the set.
Finally, I’ve also been working a bit on my Desert Mandala. I’ve gotten the one flowering bush finished up, complete with the straight stitch clusters and groups French knots for the flowers themselves. I also finished up the beetle and I’ve started on the scorpion. I realized yesterday when I went to start the beetle that I had put the beginning stitches of the scorpion’s body in the wrong place, so those all had to come out to be restitched today. The beetle is almost entirely done in iridescent beads, which I don’t think show very well on this photo (which also has slightly off colors and that big shadow – I was trying to show the texture of the stitches) but I do love working with beads.
That’s it for me this week! Hope everyone is enjoying the season where they are!
Knit One, Spin Too 
Ooh those socks are in such cheery yarns. Obviously the purple one is my favourite. Your handspun is my aim one day…lovely and consistent with good twist. I stored loads of my handspun unused until I knit the Nightshift shawl. So I understand it being tucked away in a drawer. I zoomed in and saw the wee beads on the beetle, it’s going to be a real masterpiece when its finished.
Thank you for your kind comments. I think sometimes I feel a bit of decision paralysis with handspun… like I have to pick the perfect project for it… .and then I can’t decide on a project, so I don’t use it. 😦
Beautiful work here, that spinning is so squishy even through the internet. Isn’t it strange how we put so much work into these yarns only for them to end up in storage? Using up my handspun is one of my aims this year too.
IKR? They really are too nice to spend their lives in a bin or bag. I just need to nudge myself to use up more of them.
Oh I love your chocolate and bittersweet orange yarns. Right up my alley. Love the bright colorful top of your purple socks. Your shawl is beautiful. It will be spectacular once it’s blocked.
Thank you! I’m in the home stretch on the shawl so looking forward to have it done soon!
Wow, so many beautiful makes! I also love reading the yop posts. I look forward to seeing what you make with your hand spun!
Thank you! I need to spend some time thinking about pattern/yarn combos but definitely need to start using it more!
Your shawl sounds and looks luscious. The socks ARE cheerful! Great colors. The yarns you spun are gorgeous..those colors are right up my alley….so pretty. Your cross stitch is exquisite….beautiful with the beads.
Thanks so much! The oranges and browns are normally my palette but I do really love how these are spinning up!
The shawl is really beautiful! The single color really lets the lace shine!
Thank you! I think so too 🙂
Lovely work! I have some fiber in a 3-color gradient set that I still haven’t spun up… but I bought a sweater quantity, and have been waiting for a new wheel with bigger bobbins before I knit that one up. I love seeing how yours looks!
The socks are wonderful! I love Miriam Felton’s designs, but I haven’t knit as many of them as I’ve intended to. Maybe my next socks (or shawl) will be one of hers.
I have been looking at more of my stash in terms of what kind of gradient or other mix of colors I could use skeins for. I do enjoy spinning up gradients tho!
Mim has such great designs. They are always well written and thoughtful. We used to live in SLC, so I know her well and miss spending time with her – she’s a hoot.
I have some mini-skein gradients, but I haven’t really known what to do with them yet. There are so many patterns but none has really called to me yet.
Nice! I have never met Miriam, but I used to follow her blog regularly.
Your handspun is gorgeous! I have yet to knit any of my handspun. I’m hoping to change that after this TdF. Love the cheery socks! The pattern on the lighter one is beautiful.
Thank you! I used to knit with it a lot more but I’m not sure why I got out of the habit!
Oh my, you have been so busy! I love the shawl and the socks are gorgeous colours. Your spinning looks fantastic – well done!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment!