March Making

March has rolled in alongside the most beautiful weather. Deliciously cool mornings that require socks on my feet if I'm to enjoy my first cup of tea sitting outside, watching the landscape around me change as the sun comes up higher over the hills. As the fog fades and the birdsong gets progressively noisier before they decide they've well and truly had their say, the sun strengthens and by mid-morning it's a gorgeous warm day.
I so love this time of year. It's the perfect blend of everything - cool and warmth - all rolled into one.

Although it might not feel like it right now as day time temperatures are still up quite high, the proper cold will soon arrive and with that thought, I feel like knitting so many snuggly things. I've cast on a rainbow shawl for myself, finally using a kit that I got as a treat at the end of Knitfest last year. All of the yarns in the kit are hand dyed, a mixture of merino, alpaca and silk. Upon reading through the pattern that came with the kit, I sadly don't have enough of the contrast colours to make the shawl properly. In the end, I'm supposed to knit twenty-six lace panels between twenty-six garter stitch panels.

The garter stitch is in the grey alpaca & silk, with the rainbow merino in between. With only ten colours, even if I repeat them twice before changing colour, I'll still be short a few panels.

Initially annoyed (I mean, one purchases a kit so that one has all the yarn required!), it's turned out well as I happen to have three colours of silk that match in quite perfectly.

These silks were handpainted by my dear friend Ulla, and after purchasing them from a shop about ten years ago it's lovely to finally find a project that they can shine in. With the three added colours I have enough to repeat each colour twice, before moving on to the next one, and so, in the end, will have twenty-six panels in thirteen colours.

It's obviously meant to be, as one of the colours matches perfectly with the one it will go next to - the deep maroon red in the variegation is practically identical to the maroon solid merino that came in the kit.

Alongside my shawl, I'm also knitting a chunky infinity scarf (or double-loop cowl). I feel the need to have something thick and cuddly on my needles and as my shawl is in 4ply, it just wasn't meeting this desire. So I've cast on two strands of DK yarn at once, and am working up a thick, squishy accessory. I plan to have the pattern out in about two weeks, and as even thinking of having a knit-along for the scarf to celebrate my shop's 2nd birthday. We'll see.


What are you making at the moment?
Are you noticing the tiny changes to the season?
Until next time,

Sarah

PS On a note about Knitfest, I'm excited to have booked a stall again this year! I'll probably write more about it here before then, but if not the details are here. Did you come along last year? It would be lovely to see you this time!


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