Not a lot on the needles right now, as I’m trying to prioritize my Aloft shawl. I have finished 3 full repeats and I have 6 more rows to finish repeat 4. I decided not to go for repeat 5, as I still have 40 (very long) rows to knit the last border and it’s already a nicely sized wrap. I’m using a lot less yarn than the pattern calls for so I likely will have some leftovers from the 1200 or so yards I started with. No new pictures because it really looks like a wadded up mess on the needles right now. Hopefully I’ll be close to being finished by this time next week and will have some images to share.
I finished my October Moon socks that were in progress last week, and you can read more about those in my Friday FO post. I also started and finished the Jelka Hat. This is a free pattern from Isabelle Kraemer and works up really quickly using worsted weight yarn. I knit mine using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Cast Iron (for the main color) and Long Johns for the contrast. This is an easy slip-stitch pattern and uses up almost one full skein of the MC and maybe 8-10 yards of the CC, so it’d be a great stashbuster. I made the medium size which is plenty generous and fits my DH as a beanie/toque.
I am still working on the next bobbin of singles for the gradient handspun project, so more to come on that.
The most exciting news is that I finished the final nature corner on my Desert Mandala cross-stitch. This included a scrub jay and a roadrunner, with a few cacti as well. The last section I have to work on is the Arches National Park landscape vignette and I’m going to start that today. It’s mostly just cross-stitch and limited specialty stitches (and no beads), so I’m hoping to finish it this week and then I will just have about a week’s worth of work to attach the big crystals throughout the entire piece. I’m getting closer!
Have a great week YOP’ers!
Knit One, Spin Too 
Wow, seems to me like you are speeding through that cross stitch. It will be so beautiful when finished. Will you frame and hang it? Shawls do get depressing near the end since they are often such LONG rows. I look forward to seeing pictures next week.
It will definitely get a frame and I have a spot picked out for it where I can enjoy it everytime I walk upstairs. These last rows are 450+ stitches (and I’m not even doing the largest size)!
Cant wait to see the finished shawl. I’ve been putting off making a new shawl because of the long rows. The cross stitch is beautiful!
I started the 40-row border yesterday but those last rows are no joke. They seem to take FORever.
Holy Moly! You really flew through that section of your cross stitch. Did you take time to sleep? The hat looks quite warm. How perfect for the upcoming winter months.
LOL – I actually love sleep. It’s another favorite hobby 😉 But I’m motivated to get this x-stitch piece finished!
I love the mandala! The Jelka hat is lovely and I’m looking forward to seeing your Aloft shawl.
Thank you! I’m in the home stretch and can’t wait to have it finished up this year!
The cross stitch piece looks so good! I’m really excited to see how the big beads look when they get added. 😀
Thank you! I am excited for the bling as well! 😀
Ooh you are tantalisingly close to finishing your mandala now and we can then have the full reveal. What a piece of art it is already.
YES! I plan to do a little video fly-over when it’s completed. I think it’ll be hard to show off all the details in just static photos..