Since my last post in July, where I was writing about projects in the making, not much has been finished. Some not being in my control, for example : this knit-along shawl. I have finished all I can knit as per emailed out instructions, but will leave it be until the 5th pattern shows up in my mailbox. I am sure it can be a quick finish then.

I could “cheat” and just knit the 5th pattern since I test-knit all of them earlier this year, but I feel it is better for me to wait and knit along with everyone else. Especially, when there may be questions popping up. I find it easier to answer while immersed in the process than weeks later.

The shawl I started with the variegated Blue Moon “Socks that rock” yarn combined with a Regia sock wool came along well during my visit in Germany and could have been finished if I had liked the current size. For a while I couldn’t make up my mind if it was big enough and then decided a week ago that with my impending travel back to Munich/Erding next week I have the great chance to buy another ball or two of the Regia sock yarn at Sopie Braun’s Haus der Handarbeit and continue knitting the burgundy edge. At this point it is only about one inch deep and I think the colours look more balanced with at least two inches of the darker colour.

The second knit project I took on the trip is almost done. Really, there is only the last task of adding some eyes and a nose to this cute, little lamb. It probably could pass as a bunny, too, with its droopy ears and small tail. As much as I am happy with the outcome this time again I find that the knitted fabric shows a little the stuffing inside. I noticed this with my baby toy balls as well and thought it might be fixed with a tighter gauge. May be, I need to go down more than 1 mm in needle size?

 

Once I arrived back in Abu Dhabi the Panda fibre was laid aside and the yak-silk fibre I had sampled during Tour de Fleece was spun. I had decided that to showcast the beautiful colours a long gradient would be best. Which meant that I needed to prepare the fibre. First it was split lengthwise into three strands of roving. Then the first one was seprated after each colour into shorter pieces. The pieces were sorted from fuchsia to blue to purple and spun into a thin single with a ratio of 1:10. The second strand was prepared the same way to yield a lace-weight to fingering weight 2-ply yarn. I was trying for a worsted spin, but the fibre was tending to fly away and didn’t draft consistently after the manipulation. I found it easiest to work with a short backward draft.

Thanks to Wetcoastwools video blog I was bitten by the sweater knitting bug. Glenda and Bernadette have been showing the most amazing sweaters and cardigans they were knitting during the summer and talking about how much they wish it would be fall or winter to be able to wear their new pieces. That was so inspiring that I pulled out a project I had swatched for in 2015 and then put aside to clear some stash before moving. It is the Stormwatch sweater by Holly Yeoh which was started on August 31st with Filisilk yarn (70% Merin, 30% Seide) by Atelier Zitron. I would describe the colour as coral red with a very slight yellow undertone. This yarn is thinner than the recommended sock-yarn in the pattern, but knits up with the same gauge and will be more suitable for our warm  Arabian climate. The oversized fit will allow a lot of airflow which I come to appreciate since moving here.

The very last and most recent craft is a crochet poncho made of 156 flowers. This beautiful, lacy crochet top pattern came to me as a birthday gift and paired with a pretty fuchsia-coloured cotton yarn to get started right away. The pattern called for a few more balls and I found the perfect complementing colours at Greenbranch Trading in downtown Abu Dhabi.

I have to admit that this pattern is way more challenging than I thought. It is a case of reading the instructions, thinking “Oh, this seems easy enough and I am sure I can modify it to not have so much sewing to do” and then being taught by trial and error that it is not. For some reason I was expecting to be able to crochet one flower and continue to the next one without breaking the yarn. With a little bit of thought I could have figured out that it is impossible when crocheting from the middle out. So, there is a thread to be sewn in at the beginning of each flower and at the end. Multiplied by 156 flowers. Yikes! How could I? When I don’t like the non-crocheting part of the work? It turned out to be ok as I am hiding the threads after each flower while working along and thinking of a dear friend that makes it all so much easier. The other learning experience was that I do not as easily understand the written crochet instructions and am heavily relying on the photograph and the chart. In knitting I can work from either one, but not for crochet. I ended up ribbing back and crocheting each of the three rounds three and more times until I was satisfied that I had the result I was expecting. Since my first flower took over an hour to finish I am happy to report that I am down to about 15-20 minutes per flower. A much better speed to finish the final garment before the year is over. I may even be so lucky to use fewer flowers as I find that my first row chain of 10 is quite long already and I like the poncho to cover my shoulders and upper arms, but not down to the wrists. It will be an interesting journey.

Thank you, for reading my blog! Maike