Follow Your Arrow – Part 2

Follow "my" arrow and Fred, the tan tabby

This weekend I wrapped up the final rows of Ysolda Teague's Follow Your Arrow KAL.  It was a really fun project, and it was especially interesting to knit en masse because each week she released two clues.  It was a choose your own adventure-type of KAL.    Some of the other finished products are really different from this one… if you have the time, jump over to the Ravelry group and check them out.

I ended up using some stash yarn that I had purchased several years ago and I think it worked out really nicely.  I had two skeins each of four colors and there was plenty of total yardage.  (The guidance for the projects provides yardage for either a single color shawl, or a two color variant.)

From the center of the shawl

Here are a few photos of the finished product. I knit the pattern as written and chose clues 1B, 2A, 3B, 4A and 5A.  And the finished piece measures approximately 40-inches across.  It isn't a perfect semi-circle, but close… at the midpoint, it is ~24-inches wide (or tall).

I did make some changes to the pattern.  The yarn I used was Ella Rae Silkience which is an 8-ply silk blend, DK weight yarn.  I used a US 4 needle to knit the project which helped keep the size in check, since I was using a heavier weight yarn.  I alternated the colors in a four color repeat and did run out of the last color half way through clue 5A.  So I switched to the next color in the order and I don't think that anyone will be able to tell that it wasn't part of the directions.

The edge view

Anywho, another success and pleasure to knit one of Ysolda's designs.  (I think my next Ysolda project will be an Elijah… isn't he darling?)

Half Way There...

Bright and hopeful

I'm fifty-percent done with this pair of socks.  My family is probably half way through this nasty bout of flu… I cannot wait for clear sinuses.  And I'm hoping that we are more than halfway to spring.  I'm a long-time lover of the winter weather, but this year, I'm over it.  I'm ready for sunshine with above freezing temperatures, non-treacherous walks through the neighborhood, uneventful commutes to and from work and the occasion to take down our outdoor Christmas decor.  Yes, we are those people… this year anyway.

Cheers to the coming spring.

Follow Your Arrow - Part 1

The lovely girls who convinced me to join the Stephen West Color Craving Knit Along, have more recently convinced me to sign up for the Ysolda Teague Follow Your Arrow Knit Along…  and I dive in again.

Following my arrow 1-3 of 5

This one is not only a surprise knit along, but it is one in which each week participants are provided with two options, so that in total there are 32 possible outcomes.  And if that wasn't enough, you can knit it as a single color or as a two color piece, and instructions are included for that as well.  Oh, the possibilities.

I'm proceeding with the multiple color version – I'm using four colors because I'm doing a little stash busting.  And I am hoping that I have chosen wisely the yarn type.  I have had on hand for some time this Ella Rae Silkience.  The nice twist and little bit of shine of the silk in this yarn will hopefully help to showcase the texture and stitch definition nicely, even though I'm not entirely sure what texture and stitch definition I'm creating.  These projects are such a leap for me.

I cannot wait to see what I end up with, and I will keep you posted.

Until it's complete… I leave you with progress shots of Clues 1b, 2a and 3b. More details are here on Ravelry.

Looking forward to seeing what
comes next