WIP Wednesday - All About the Westknits

This mystery KAL has triggered a major case of startitis! I'm fighting the urge to start two more sock projects - I'd like to finish my Wool Dispensary sock design first (I just cast on for sock #2)....and besides that, it's really better if I limit myself to one sock project at a time.

Daybreak: Not at its most photogenic stage

I'm not sure if the following logic is actually logical, but instead of starting a monster or sock, I ended up starting a Daybreak Shawl. I've been wanting to knit one for so long now, it just seemed like I should use the momentum of this KAL to check that off my knitting bucket list. Does it help my case if I say I'm using sport-weight yarn? No? Well, I had to try.

I cast on last Thursday - much like the addictive Pogona Shawl, it's flying off the needles! I really love the Knit Picks Simply Cotton yarn - it comes in a beautiful palette of colors and is easy to knit with - not something you can say of most cotton yarns, which tend to be difficult to wrangle.

I don't want to ruin the surprise of the Earth & Sky Mystery KAL for you - but if you'd like to see my progress photos, click the links below to see what I've been up to. I have to say, I had a hard time picturing where we were headed when I finished the first clue, but now that more progress has been made I'm loving how this is knitting up!

Week #1
Week #2 - full view
Week # 2 - close-up

Besides loving the pattern (and finally making friends with intarsia), I am quite happy with my color choices and placement - total dumb luck that I got it right on the first try. It was really fun to dig through my sock yarn bin to destash for this project. I'd forgotten how much amazing sock yarn I have; I really need to start cracking the whip to knit through more of it. I have a few more shawl patterns I'm really dying to make: Leethal's Betiko, Chadwick by Mr. West (I was intimidated by the colorwork on this one - won't be an issue now!) and a stripey version of Breean Miller's Scalloped Shawl from Malabrigo Book 3 are all at the top of my list!

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Overdyeing A Finished Knit

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What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

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