Fun Things May Be Coming

 I have been playing with a new to me yarn called Coastal Cotton Ocean Mist by the Queensland Collection.  The yarn is 100% Cotton, the label says it is Pure Soft Cotton.  I must wholeheartedly agree with that statement.  By the way it is carried by both of Tucson’s Local Yarn Shops, Birdhouse Yarns and Grandma’s Spinning Wheel.

I chose this yarn because I am currently knitting items for a higher end charity event.  I wanted my yarn to reflect this. So far with the first skein I have made one 8” x 8” washcloth.  I have enough yarn to make a second washcloth which I started tonight.  If I have enough to make 3 washcloths I will add an addendum to the bottom of this post. 

I am really rocking geometric shapes in the patterns that I am designing. The yarn seems to be holding up well to this fun style of knitting.  I am also pleased with the yarn definition as I’m changing between knitting and pearling. I am also not using a pattern or sketches of any kind. I am just going with the flow. 

For full disclosure. I purchased all the yarn for the charity auction work, replacing yarn in current patterns and for the new patterns in the works. I purchased half the yarn from each of my locally owned yarn shops. If this yarn is not available locally to you both shops will take phone orders and mail out the yarn and anything else that they carry.

If at First You Don’t Succeed.

I just love the color way and feel of this Queensland Collection Perth in Bay of Fires yarn. Please be forewarned that this yarn might not be in your local yarn shop anymore.  The explanation is quite simple really. I tried five different patterns with this yarn. The yarn was not happy with the previous patterns.  It was really saying I know what I want to be. You are not understanding what I want.  So after each failure the whole project bag was put in timeout.  Yes, sometimes yarn does need a time out.  Maybe, I just did not know what to do with the yarn.  

I need to start a different UFO,  I have completed 3 projects in 2 days. I still have to make time to take the pictures. I believe I am up to 5 pictures that need to be taken. It has been crazy busy since we got home from our last family trip. 

Well last night everything changed.  I tried knitting the project that was on the knitting needles.  The yarn said no.  So I frogged the work.  Using U.S. size 10 1/2 knitting needles and not the recommended U.S. size 1 to 3 knitting needles I charged ahead using a slightly different cast on count of My Doodling Shawl pattern, available on Ravelry.  By the third row the yarn was sing, she finally got me.  So I kept knitting until I needed a longer knitting needle.  Believe it or not I did not have a circular knitting needle in 10.5 by 60 inches long.  So out came the LYKKE interchangeable knitting needles to the rescue.  By the way don’t the copper knitting needles look good with the yarn?  

I don’t know how big the shawl will be.  I have 3 skeins of Bay of Fire at 437 yards each. Again I think the shawl will make the decision for me. This should make a great summer weight shawl for those cold places.