Beyond the mundane things such as going to the market for our weekly groceries and getting two loads of laundry done, I managed to finish up Chart D of the Mystery Stole today which means I’m caught up to the group and anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s clue to start up again. I think after this Chart I will have to do detail shots of the stole because I’ve run out of cushion to pin this puppy out on… unless I can come up with another brilliant idea because the shadow over the stole in this photo is driving me mad.

I’ve also got stuff blocking out on the guest bed, so I should have a finished object to report tomorrow. Yeah! :)

I’ve just finished Chart C for the Mystery Stole and this is how it’s looking, albeit badly pinned out. I’m having a hard time making the pinning look good when I can’t pull it out to full width, but I really like working on the small circulars so I can either be frustrated while photographing the stole or frustrated while knitting it…. the latter definitely not being a good option.

This means I can now work on this week’s Chart and that I’m essentially ‘caught up’ to the group. I think I’m going to put it down for a couple of days but I should still be finished the next chart by Friday when the next clue is released… albeit the printed version doesn’t get here until Friday evening when Joey comes home with it. (He’s so good to print them out for me) :)

Meanwhile, I cast on my new Jitterbug socks. I think I needed some colour in my life…. I’m so not an off-white person so all these off-white projects are starting to melt my poor little brain so I thought these would add a bit of colour to my life. Besides, I was in need of a new travelling project and this wool has been screaming to worked.

I’m really liking to Colinette Jitterbug yarn so far. It’s a nice weight (I’m knitting on 2.5mm needles), I love how it’s spun, I love the colour and the fabric is knitting up really nicely. I’m not quite so pleased with the number of knots I found when winding the ball, but I’ve heard other knitters have had the same issues with this yarn. It’s a pity… I think it’s this yarn’s only downfall so far.

Chart B is done, which means that so is Clue 1… and that means I’m only one week behind. Here’s how it is looking so far:

This stole will block out to about 20-inches, but since I’m using 16-inch circulars I can’t pin it out to full width, but you get the idea.

Off to clean the house before I begin on Clue 2….

In some very exciting news, the Kiri shawl came off the needles last night. I’m so excited. This is it in all its unblocked glory…. kinda looks like the ramen noodles I had for lunch. I have definitely decided to dye this puppy and the winner is…. something close to olive. I’m going to dye and then block the shawl in one go, so I’ll keep you updated as to its progress. Fingers crossed it all works out.

And because Kiri is now off the needles, that means that the Mystery Stole has been cast on. This is its current state which has been knit up to the end of the first chart. I’ve got two more charts to do to catch up and another chart comes out tomorrow so I’ve got a bit of knitting to do. The first chart didn’t take me long, so I’m hoping that getting caught up won’t be a problem.

Although the MS3 pattern calls for beads, I’ve decided to forgo the beads on this one. If I decide I love the pattern and it must have beads, I’ll knit up another at the end of the KAL. At this point, I’m not even sure what colour the stole will be at the end of this episode so I certainly didn’t want to add beads that would end up being wrong for the final piece. I may keep it natural, but for some reason baby blue has crept into my head of late….

The yarn itself is the same yarn I used for the Kiri Shawl… a 2/15 merino laceweight. Although I’m not an off-white kinda of person I bought a kilo of this yarn with the idea I could dye the final pieces to whatever colour I wanted. Besides, I really don’t need 4 off-white shawls. ;)

In other yarn related reports, I happened to pop through John Lewis on my trek into town today. They had a sale on yarn. They had a 50% off sale on yarn. They had a 50% off sale on good yarn. :)

I got myself some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran for a pair of fetchings. I only bought a single ball the last time I attempted a pair of fetching and I ran out of yarn… seriously I needed another 2 feet but tried to squeeze what I could out of the yarn and they just weren’t quite comfy. I’ll frog those fetchings and make a baby hat or something (cause like I’m gonna waste good yarn). Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson and this time I bought two balls…

I also bought some Debbie Bliss Cathay which I’m going to use for a Luna Moth shawl The yarn is quite different than what is called for in the pattern, but I think it will work. We’ll know as soon as I swatch. This will definitely be a lacey work of some description. I’m going to love this colour with my black wool coat… I’m not a type of person that can really wear black and always need a bit of colour to ensure I don’t look like I’ve just risen from the dead. This will be perfect.

And finally I got some Jaeger Aqua to make up a couple of Grrrs. I seriously love this pattern, so I’m going to make a couple of them for the little one. Even if she doesn’t love them, it’ll make bathtime fun for mum (and I’m sure dad will have fun with them, too).

Meanwhile, I’m going to continue working on the MS3 and see if I can get myself caught up. :)

I squeaked in at the last minute for the cut off deadline and joined in on the Mystery Sole 3 KAL (knit a long). It’s not something I’d planned on doing, but I was really liking what I was seeing on other people’s blogs and decided to give it a go. I’m going to use the same laceweight Merino I’m using for my Kiri shawl I mentioned the other day which means I have a bit of a dilema. I need to finish the Kiri shawl before I start MS3 and I’m already starting 2 clues behind. The Kiri is currently about half way through the row count and I only started it the other day so I’m hoping that I might be finished (or at least cast-off) by week’s end.

I’m really liking the Kiri shawl. I’ve totally fallen into the rhythm of the pattern so it’s going much faster now. I’m thinking of dyeing it when it comes off the needles…. maybe a light mossy green of a light blue?? Haven’t decided yet.

I’ll get that blog button for MS3 in the side bar and post about something non-knitting releated when I get home from work. I’ve got a backlog of scrapbook pages to post and lots of photos from my current round robin, too. Lots of eye candy… and since they are ready to post I can dedicate more time to getting Kiri off the needles. :)