Fits and starts

One very good reason to have multiple projects going at once is that when one isn’t grooving, another one is (hopefully). Let’s start with the one that is flying high: my Blackbird shawl.

When last we checked, the main rectangle was done. That was dead easy (if a bit boring). Next step: modify the colors that came with the kit to better match my wardrobe. Here are the colors that came with the kit:

And since these are fingering weight yarns, I have plenty of other options in stash (though not nearly as many as I did before starting the sock yarn blanket). Here is what I selected:

Then I picked up 373 stitches (super tedious in case that isn’t totally obvious) to start the decorative band. I started the colorwork and surprisingly found that it was easier than I expected. I’ve done very little stranded knitting but maybe just enough for it to begin to feel better. And seeing the design appear as each row is completed is completely addictive, so I sailed right through it. Then I had a frustrating week of waiting for a needle to arrive in the mail (I didn’t have the 2.25mm 32” circular that I needed). This isn’t blocked yet, but you can get a sense of the design:

I’m working on the second band now. I’m a little concerned I will run out of the main color (gray), but there’s no way to find out without just forging ahead.

I need another easy and portable project, so I decided to start a scarf for my mom. Remember she gave me yarn at Christmas with a hint that she wanted it back:

Mom liked a couple of patterns, both of which I started.

Either would have looked nice with the yarn, but there just isn’t enough yarn for a satisfying scarf. I have only two balls which total 100 grams and 328 yards. Ravelry categorizes this as a sportweight yarn. I think I would only get about 3-4 feet of scarf (and not a very wide scarf at that), so I finally accepted that I would need to add more yarn to this in order to get a good scarf.

I’ve been wanting to try a pattern from the Sequence Knitting book for a while now… and there are a few patterns that use two yarns. I chose Dogpatch. But what yarn to add? I chose two neutrals I thought would coordinate well:

Can you picture what they will look like? Sometimes it’s really hard to tell without actually swatching. Here is a start on both of them:

I definitely prefer the gray, but what do you think? It blends in more and appears less stripey. The size of the yarn helps it blend in, too – it’s noticeably skinnier than the other yarns:

I don’t know… maybe I should try some other options, too. I’ve now started this scarf FOUR times and still am not happy with my plan! Sometimes that’s how it goes with knitting, right?