Skip to main content

Broad Shoulders MWKKAL: Checking In

It's been about 5 weeks since the Broad Shoulders Midwestern Knits KAL started, and I am nowhere near where I thought I'd be! My proposed "schedule" which I drafted at the start of the KAL was this:

  • September Goal: Work body up to Central Chicago section (thatā€™s four stitch pattern sections spread over 2.5 weeks - I think we can probably get further than that with any luck!) 
  • October Goal: Finish body and work sleeve 1. 
  • November Goal: Work sleeve 2 & buttonband.

Since the KAL actually ends on December 14, that allows two weeks for catching up...and I am clearly going to need it! By the end of September, I'd barely gotten through the first two stitch patterns. September turned out to be the busiest month ever - both in terms of work and general life stuff. By the time I had a chance to sit down and knit at the end of the day, my brain was fried, and I had a hard time handling anything other than stockinette stitch. In fact, when I did attempt to knit on this sweater, I found I would make stupid mistakes which then had to be ripped out later - through no fault of the pattern, which is actually really fun & easy to knit.

Over the weekend, I did manage to get a lot done on the left front (and I think this photo is a little truer to the yarn color):

In the mean time, my fellow KAL-ers have been making some excellent progress - and one has already finished their sweater! Raveler CurrentlyPurring gets bonus points for finishing her sweater just in time for Rhinebeck:
I'm excited to see everyone else's sweaters shape up as we move into the second half of the KAL. If you are a super-speed knitter (or just able to follow directions better than I can), there's still time to join in - there are some great prizes up for grabs!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b...

A Finished Sweater, With Cat Hair

After losing Tilly and Robin within a year of each other, I sure didn't think I'd be finding cat hair in my knitting any time soon. But the universe had other ideas. Over the winter, a white feral cat adopted us. I'd noticed her when we moved into our apartment last summer - I would see her hiding in the bushes or sunning herself in the grass when she thought no one was looking. I assumed she was someone's cat until I realized how skittish she was around humans, plus she had a tipped ear, which is a universal sign that a feral/stray cat has been spayed. Neighbors confirmed that she was a feral kitty (descended from several generations of feral cats, in fact), and that she has survived on her wits and whatever food various residents put out for her.  We had some bitterly cold days over the winter, and I just felt so sorry for this poor kitty! I started offering her treats and slowly gained her trust. She didn't even want to come inside our apartment at first, much le...

Australian Superfine Merino Yarn Review & Giveaway

After more than ten years of knitting, I can still have new experiences - even with well-covered territory such as merino yarn! This recent merino experience actually took me by surprise: I've spun with it, I've dyed it, I've knit with it, and I've even crocheted with it...I was pretty sure I knew all there was to know about merino! Turns out, there are four different classifications of merino fiber, sorted by micron count range . At the bottom of the spectrum is Strong Merino , which ranges from 26-22.9 microns; above that is Fine Merino , which ranges from 20.1-23 microns; next up is Extra Fine Merino, which ranges from 20-15.6 microns; and at the very top of the heap is Superfine Merino Wool , with a micron range of 18.5-15.6. If you're into numbers and wondering how these four classes stack up against other fibers you may be familiar with, here are a few for comparison's sake: BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) has a micron range of 24-28, Cashmere goat down ...