Preparing for the MKALs

This time last year I wrote a post about how I was going to plan a good time, even though we were in lockdown etc. And it's true, I did all the things I said I was going to do and enjoyed the heck out of them! Now we're a year down the track we're in lockdown again and I am very tired. So when I saw imagined Landscapes was doing a Gnome MKAL I said "yes please". I've only knit one Gnome, and it was a lot of fun. I had yarn in stash, and I'm loving the whimsy of a mystery gnome knit-a-long.

And then of course September is prep month for the Stephen West mkal - this year it's called Shawlography, and features 5 bold contrasting colours. just like last year I found 4 perfect colours in my stash, and I'm going to dye that white (which is a sparkle yarn) the colour of the pink sample I have there.

I'm stoked about the Aussie dyers I'm using - Louie and Lola for the light and dark grey, Stranded in Oz for the purple and The Purl Box for the teal.

I'm pretty excited for this KAL, it's was a lot of fun last year and I made a shawl I wouldn't have chosen but love and wear a lot. I hope this year's is huge and silly. I know I'll love the colours, because they are all my faves. Also, I'm finally using the Stephen West / Joji collab shawl bag I bought in May. It's so pretty.

And sitting down to write about these plans has cheered me up no end. I'm looking forward to dying the pink, probably next weekend and casting on the Gnome in a fortnight. Even when things are quiet, when we are staying sloe to home and staying safe, there is always small joys close by.

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Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

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