This month is flying by. I feel like we just started the year, and yet, we’re heading into the last full week of the second month! Here’s what I’ve been working on this week. (I am still working towards my cast-on goal of 31 projects in Jan/Feb and you can see that list over here. I’ve made some tweaks to it as I’m struggling with some medication changes for my autoimmune stuff and my hands are a wreck. Smaller gauge projects are more difficult to get through right now. I have okay periods in the middle of the day when I have all my meds on board, but my early morning and evening crafting hours have been a struggle as they wear off. Hoping this gets itself all sorted out and I can return to my regular and usual soon!)
Delighted to say I have finished up my Carrasco Cowl. This came out even better than I thought it would. I wasn’t a huge fan of the gradient colors in the skeins, but I LOVE how the knit up. The yarn is the One Ring colorway set from The Unique Sheep on their Sport yarn. The pattern is by Katy Carroll and is a really well-written pattern with lots of details but is easy to knit (win/win!). I love the squishy texture and love how the gradient smoothly shifts over the landscape of the cowl.
In active progress, I’m still working on my Dragonstone socks, but I’m hoping to finish those this week. I have sock 1 done and sock 2 is worked through the heel turn, so just the foot left to go on it. I’ve made a bunch more 3-round granny squares using sock yarn oddments held doubled (although this one will probably be on hold for a while so I can concentrate on other priorities), and I hit the 65% mark on my Quill shawl, which finally started adding some lace to the overall design.
I finished up the last couple of skeins in my gradient set of handspun from Hilltop Cloud Fibres I’ve been working on for what seems like ever. They just had a bath, so I’ll do a proper FO post on those later this week. I’m delighted to have just over 1200 yards of it!
I also have been a bit of progress on Winter’s Encounter. This takes me to just over my 2K goal for the month, and normally I would switch to another project to close out February, but I’ve been enjoying this so much (and we only have 8 days left in the month anyway), that I’m going to stick with it for the balance.
That’s it for me this week YOP’ers – have a great one!
Knit One, Spin Too 
Agree. Really like that cowl pattern. Has texture but lets the yarn sing. Sorry to hear the meds are acting up. Hope you get to enjoy your crafts all day soon.
Thank you! Highly recommend the pattern – very well written and entertaining!
That cowl is really beautiful! I like the way the shawl is shaping up. Tell me, what do you do with all your projects? I am struggling with whether I should continue to churn out projects as most just sit in a box. I want them to be loved, but I don’t know what to do with them. Any suggestions?
Sorry to hear your meds are giving you trouble. I hope that all gets sorted out for you.
Well.. churn is probably my middle name, so you’ve come to the right place. For socks, hats, scarves, and hand things, I put everything in a box and send to my mum. She is in charge of her church’s holiday gift bags. They “adopt” an inner city homeless shelter each year and they try to build a gift bag of warm things, gift cards, personal items for each person so they ALWAYS can use up what I send them. Shawls are going to a Ravelry group that makes them for a palliative care unit. If I make a garment, it’s usually for myself, although occasionally as a family member gift. I feel 100% sure that the end users are appreciative of the items and I’ll even go so far as to say “loved”. (My mum – who is a force of nature – also is on the board for a historic property near some family in central PA. They do a “craft fair” in the fall and that’s another venue where I just send her stuff – socks mostly – and whatever they sell for goes into the grounds upkeep fund.)
Let me know if you want contact info for any of that – or other suggestions. IMHO, if you love making things, don’t worry about the recipients. They seem to find their way to people who need/love/use them in my experience and I’d be happy to help you with some connections if you want them.
(PS Also thank you re: the meds. I trundle along.)
Thanks for the really great ideas! We just moved here, so I am not yet plugged into the donation scene. I have contacted some churches, but they are not responding. I think I need to be more aggressive in locating spots here!! I used to donate blankets all the time to Project Linus, maybe I’ll look for a local chapter here for blankets. Can you give me the name of the Rav group who takes shawls?
Thanks!!
Yeah – It’s hard to get “in” with things. The group on Rav is Project Legacy (https://www.ravelry.com/groups/project-legacy-shawls-2). Nice group of folks and they take lapghans and other things. Lots of opportunities there as there is always a need. The moderator/organizer, Diane, is super nice. Hope to see you there!
That must be so frustrating having just a small window where your hands are comfortable, I hope things settle down. I love the cowl, I have one of slightly similar texture I knitted called Bricks and Mortar, when that one eventually wears out I may replace it with this one you’ve shared (forgotten the name already…new brain please)
I hope they do too! I think those squishy cowls that trap a lot of warmth are the best kind!
Beautiful projects, as always. I’m sorry to hear about your meds, but I hope you will get it sorted out soon.
Thank you and thank you! 🙂
All gorgeous stuff! That cowl looks really interesting.
I hope you’re able to get your meds worked out soon so that you can have more comfortable crafting time.
I really enjoyed the pattern – just enough details and interesting things but a quick knit otherwise! Thank you!
Lovely work! I really like how squishy the cowl looks. Seems super comfy!
Comfy and squishy and warm!
I hope you get the meds sorted out soon. It doesn’t sound like any fun for your hands to hurt. Your projects look great. I love the spirit of donating them to someone in need. I do children’s hats and mittens for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Your cowl is beautiful.
That’s another great charity to knit for!
Oh my, all of those projects look fabulous and all while you are not at 100%. Take care of yourself, and I hope it sorts itself out soon.
Thank you so much – I do too!