The Mystery Stole 3 group is closed to new members at this time. If you missed out on sign ups for this group, don't worry, you didn't miss out on knitting this design. Pink Lemon Twist is offering the design in a traditional format since the Knit Along is over. Click here for the Swan Lake pattern.
They are already planning for Mystery Stole 4 in late Summer 2008 and this will be announced through the Pink Lemon Knits group as well as the blog, Pink Lemon Twist.
This KAL has been my first experience working with lace weight yarn and beads. I had done some lace work on both the Josephine top and the Campanula top which had charts. At first, I hated it but as soon as I got used to working with the yarn I really enjoyed it.
Although this KAL is over I am still working on Clue #4. Clue #4 was a larger clue because we had 2 weeks to work on it. But this was the Clue in which we decided to add length. Because I have plenty of yarn and am not a small person, I decided to add about 12 inches and do an alternate border before beginning the wing section.
Since Secret of the Stole is beginning and October 5th, I am working hard at finishing Clue #4. As soon as I finish this clue, I am going to put it aside until I am finished with the new KAL. I really want to keep up this time around.
Here is an updated picture of my progress so far. I figure that I am a little more than halfway done.
Here is a close up of the beads. They don't show up as much as I would like but they do grab the light and reflect nicely.
This KAL is really what has made me see the benefit of KALs. You can get all kinds of help in the discussion groups. You get to share your work with others and see others work which is always inspiring.
Pinwheel Sweater KAL
This KAL is not really active anymore but you can still visit and view the archives. There are a lot of great pictures and helpful hints.
I started my Pinwheel sweater in November 2006. I had bought some yarn off ebay that ended up not being a good of a buy as I had thought. I ended up with a bunch of odd ball skeins of sport and worsted weight wool from Norway. I had ordered the yarn in hopes of making a Norwegian sweater out of real Norwegian wool but there wasn't enough of any of the colors for one sweater. I soon after found the pattern for the Pinwheel sweater on the Elann website.
A lot of people omit the sleeves and make Pinwheel baby blankets. I've seen several and think they are a great idea. You could use up left over yarn easily for this project making it really stripey and colorful. I also thought for the child's sweater pattern you could change the amount of rounds so you only use six colors and do a rainbow colored sweater. I tend to create new projects when I get close to finishing a project.
I worked on it quite a bit this weekend since I was home sick. Here is my progress.
I am currently about 5 rounds into the 7th and final color. It is like 430 some stitches a round. I am so greatful for the 60 inch cord that goes with my Knit Picks Option needles it helps so much.
This is one of my favorite tips from the KAL website. You knit up the armhole with a different color waste yarn instead of putting the stitches on stitch holders or scrap yarn. When you are ready to knit the sleeves, you just pickup the stitches and remove the waste yarn. Like this ...
It works just great and was really easy to do. I will definitely remember this trick for future use.
I am getting so close to finishing this that it is hard for me to work on anything else. I get like that when I can see the end in site. I am sure it will be part of my wardrobe this fall.
Monthly Discloth KAL
This group holds 2 KALs per month. They send an email to the group with about 7 lines of a pattern a day and continue to email the pattern for about 7 days. After 7 days, you’ll have a dishcloth to use or pass along.
1st of the Month KAL: These KALs have a monthly theme and usually have a picture of something pertaining to the month/season. Usually a solid color is best for pictured dishcloths.
16th of the Month KAL: These KALs are usually a repeating pattern of some type. They try to incorporate a “new” stitch. Maybe something that you haven’t tried yet. Variegated yarns are usually good to use for these KALs. For these KALs, feel free to ask as many questions as you need to get your answer and get through the KAL. There are some wonderful knitters in our group who are more than willing to help. This is a learning experience KAL.
They have past dishcloth patterns to work on at your own pace. That leaves the rest of the month for knitting tips, help, suggestions and just chatting about knitted dishcloths. They also exchange dishcloths for the fall, winter, spring and summer if you choose to participate. They have fun with knitting year round.
This is a very active KAL with lots of members. I don't knit the dishclothes every month but do when I need a small project with quick gratification. If you do all the KAL you will have 24 dishclothes ready for Christmas presents. They make great gifts by themselves or you can add a hand soap or lotion or make a whole kitchen theme gift basket.
I hope you enjoyed my entries about my KALs? Have you ever joined a KAL? If not, why don't you give one a try? Maybe one of mine. If so, what KALs are you part of? Is there a new one out there I should try?
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