Purple elephant -- and other musings...

My holidays are coming to an end for this summer. It's time to reflect on my accomplishments, and set out some goals for the fall (one of my favourite times of the year for knitting). To do that, I took a scan back through the pictures of my recently finished items and was amused to find this -- a purple elephant!

Ravelry has been a great boon in holding me accountable for my finished projects -- and taking pictures of them. Some projects are a little onerous in trying to show in a photograph, and this shawl was one of them (80+"x28") and while I have some great close-up shots of the beading and lace edging, trying to capture the entire shawl was a bit challenging... and funny when I end up with this subliminal image!

Ironically, this is not an "elephant" at all (size issues aside!), as I started and finished this project within six days. Trust me, there are many other projects that languish a lot (an understatement!!) longer than a week! That is the case with two projects I didn't get to cross off my list this summer, so they remain on the "must finish" pile for the fall: my second "fluffy cloud" scarf (made from Shibui Silk Cloud in a gradated method to incorporate the greens/taupes I chose), and my second "Be With You" shawl made from two different kinds of yarns (Solstice Changeling and Osiris) in a weird copper/taupe/with specks of blue combo.

Both of these projects are half-way completed, but have taken a second seat to a sweater I'm working on -- and that has a specific deadline. It's a sweater project, started by my dear Knit Night friend, Susan. Before Susan passed away in February, she had started this project progressing on the sleeves in two-at-a-time fashion -- a new endeavour for her. She was quite pleased with being able to accomplish this, until she discovered she had done the knit-through-the-back-loop incorrectly, and "tinked" back to the cuff to reknit the sleeves! She managed to get them up to the elbows, but that's where her energy left her. I had made a commitment to help her with this sweater, and that offer has now extended to her daughter. In essence, I'm knitting the sweater for both of them.

Sleeves are done and I'm half-way up the body of the pullover. I hope to have the sweater done in time to enter it in a local fall fair, given Susan and I used to await the outcomes of the ribbons on handknit items at these events. My goal is to be able to hand it over to Carolyn (with a ribbon) for her October birthday!

After that, it's back to those other two projects -- oh, and the sweater I started for myself, plus two scarves that are about 20% started/finished (that's my version of cup half-full/half empty!). There will definitely be no trouble in finding something to knit this fall!

Crossing them off my list

You may remember my "deal" with myself: for every two WIP projects I finished, I was allowed to cast on something new. Well folks, that's worked out very well this summer!

My finished projects amount to four shawls (one "mystery" knit single skein project, another single skein item, and two 700m lace items) and a sweater -- and that allowed me the opportunity to help with a test knit as part of a revamp of a designer's pattern.

Let me explain.

Shawl 1: A Grant Creek Yarn in the pattern "Mustardseed" (with beads) -- a lovely spring green that translated into a frothy lovely! Finished June 2015.

Shawl 2: Hazel Knits Entice (merino/cashmere blend) in "Zest"! A one-skein mystery knit with the pattern being released in weekly "clues" by the designer "VeryBusyMonkey". Finished mid-July.

Shawl 3: A DyeForYarn mulberry silk in "Nocturnal Maelstrom" (light fingering weight), knit in "Out of Darkness". Finished early July.

Shawl 4: A recently released pattern called "Chasing Rainbows" done in Hedgehog Fibres merino lace ("Truffle" colourway). Finished late July.

Sweater #1: Hazel Knits Lively (DK) in "Citrus Blossom" in the pattern "Storm Mountain". This has been on the go for a while, so nice to have it blocking...

And these entitled me to cast on -- and finish -- this lovely pattern. "Cloud Illusions" by BooKnits in DyeForYarn "Queen Maab" (fingering weight)...

I have one more sweater to finish (sew in the sleeves and block), and then work on my late friend Susan's sweater (for her daughter Carolyn). After that, there's a new pattern to cast on August 11, and a few more WIPs.

I think I'm winning!