The Mystery Stole 3 is Finished!

WooHoo! My Mystery Stole 3 is finally finished and being blocked as I type. I finished knitting it last night, I did some end weaving when I got home from work and immediately soaked it and pinned it out.

If I were a patient person I'd wait until this weekend when I'm home while the sun is up and I could get some pictures that will do the stole justice. But, alas...I'm just not that patient. So, here is the stole being blocked. Try to see through the rotten pics and see the lusciousness of the finished knit...

Love the wing!

I have some more news...but I'll let the finished stole be it's own magnificent post!

UPDATE - (already?) While I'm sitting here reading my own blog post and admiring my stole...I got an email from the stole designer (well, really it's an email from her blog). And, as it turns out, this luscious pattern is now available on Melanie's site. I'm purchasing it! How 'bout you?

A whole month?

..and then some. What the heck have I been doing...?


Well, besides being super busy at work...I've been knitting like a fiend on the Mystery Stole 3. Yes, others have been done forever...but I'm slowly plugging away at the last clue. Not because it's hard or anything. I got to the last clue and then work and life got in the way. But, now I'm about 20ish rows from the end. Yippee! I can't wait to be done.

As you can see from the above close up of the wing, it's going to need a good solid blocking. But I love the wing part. I've seen a bunch of finished stoles on the web and in the group and I can't believe how gorgeous they look on. The asymmetric design really looks great. Striking and different - that's what I wanted! I will be buying the pattern once I'm finished just to give some monetary support to a talented designer.

I've also recently purchased a whole slew of knitting mags. I was in a no magazine slump for a while...I hadn't been to a book store in months and was in need of some knitting inspiration. I'd heard so much about the Tilted Duster sweater in the new fall Interweave Knits so I went in search of a copy. The new Vogue Collectors addition and the new Knit Simple mags just somehow found their way into my cart... I'm so inspired now! Here's a little sampling of what I want to make from each:

The Tilted Duster from IK, of course. The front and...

...the back

This simple one from Knit simple is enticing.
I love the yarn, the color, and the simple design.

And this one is from Vogue. Somewhere between sweater and shawl. I love it!

There is also some greatness in the new fall issue of Knitty. But I'll leave my favorites for another post. See yah!

Knitting on a mystery

Still plugging away on my Mystery Stole 3. I'm about 1/2 way through clue #4. Melanie just released the explanation of the theme and a schematic for the finished stole. Some on the KAL group are angry and the non-traditional asymmetrical design of the stole. But, I signed up for a mystery and I'll be happy with where the designer leads us. There is beauty in asymmetry, after all. I can't wait to get mine finished so I can see how it looks draped over my shoulders. Just in it being different from other symmetrical stoles, it'll be eye catching.

Here is a pic of my progress. I really like the pattern that I'm working now. The designer described it as cat paws. Flowers or cat paws...both are nice!

PS: Sorry for the below average photo. The light isn't the best in our apartment today...

Mystery Stole - Clue #3

Well, I always knew I wasn't trying to be perfect while knitting this stole. I know I messed up a couple times and I went back to fix it when I could. There was one row I couldn't find the mistake, however, and I thought it wasn't too noticeable until I took the picture above.

See the top of the first big point. Darn! Maybe it wont be so noticeable while wearing it. I'm not ripping anything out. This is my first big lace project and it'll keep the mistake as a "this is my first lace project" mistake. I'll just be getting better from here.

This is my stole at the end of clue #3. I'm starting clue 4 today.

PS: I really, REALLY love my new Addi Turbo Lace needles. They are delicious to knit with and really are speeding me up. I knit most of clue 3 in one night! The lace pointy points are a lifesaver when doing knit 2-3 together. And the smooth finish and flexible cable are great to work with. I'd definitely recommend them.

Ooooohhhhh Aaaaahhhhhh

I think the title of this post says it all.

Now...off to knit on the Mystery Stole.
I'll be giving a full report on if these were worth the $17.00 soon.

Less blogging, more….

…knitting on my Mystery Stole. I wanted to wait and take a picture after a quickie blocking…but I must admit, I can’t stop knitting long enough to quickie block. Here’s a pic of the stole (sans blocking) as it stands right now. I’m almost through clue #2:


I opted for not using beads in mine. I figured I’d have my hands full just trying to follow the lace pattern. As you’ll see from the list below, this is one good decision in the list of bad ones…

There are a couple things I’m learning about knitting my first real laciness…

1. Do not use a furry mohair as your first yarn for your first lace knitting project. Pretty, soft, luxurious to work with…but a beginner lace yarn it ain’t!
2. Do not use black. It’s true that black was one of the recommended mystery stole colors this year. But, so was white. Note to self: think before getting sucked into the furry, luxurious goodness of mohair.
3. I must invest in some Addi Turbos. My Denise Interchangeables are just too rough between the connections of needle and cord.

So, other then these small lessons, my mystery stole is working up quite nicely. I haven’t had to rip anything out…well, I’ve preferred to tink back to the mistake rather then rip, rip, rip. I’ve so far been successful at catching mistakes before the end of the row (knock on wood). I’m also not using any life lines (like I said, I prefer to tink). Ripping is incredibly difficult to do with mohair! This I learned while knitting the swatch at the beginning…

At least I’m in good company. As of this post, there are 6,676 knitters from around the world knitting this stole with me. Two of which I think are really inspiring: Bonnie Marie Burns from Chicknits, and The Yarn Harlot. I’m so glad I decided to sign up for this – even though all other knitting projects have been put on hold for now.

Good thing this whole mystery stole thing isn’t done at Christmas time. There would be one gift…for me!

Here's another full glory shot for you. Sorry for all the flash photography. The non-flash pics didn't even show the beautiful design.


PS: For more Mystery Stole Goodness, check out these pics: The Flickr search (266 pics!)

Start-itus

So why is it that all knitters get start-itus and never finish-itus? Now, granted, I think I do pretty well in the finishing projects department. I try to finish things before starting new projects and I try to have a project in mind when I buy more yarn. This has kept the UFOs in check (mostly) and the stash manageable.

However, as of late I fear I'm catching a case of start-itus. I seriously am getting too many projects going at once. Well, too many for me. Besides the ones featured on this blog thus far (the socks for my brother and the Squatty Sidekick for someone yet-to-be-named), I also have a baby blanket (I promise it will make it on the blog soon) and now....soon to be...something else.

I was innocently surfing the web the other day looking at knitting blogs. This sometimes gets me in trouble. I'm always surfing around crafty blogs or on line yarn stores or looking at knitting patterns. This time I was reading one of my favorites, The Giving Flower's post on the Mystery Stole Yahoo Group.

Needless to say...I joined.

Now I have yarn on the way from Elann.com and I'm already itching to start....another...project.

Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. After all...all the other projects mentioned aren't for myself. 1 out of 4 knitting projects should be for myself...right? Right?