Hyperactivity

You'd think, having been facecd last week with the full list of all my outstanding projects, that I would be content to work on them and not start any more.

You'd be wrong.

I finished the Thinking of Me scarf at the weekend and immediately started thinking about what to cast on next. It had to be a pattern from my Year of Projects list, and it had to be knit. Sojourn Falls was ruled out because my 4mm needles are still being used for Forest Lace, so it came down to a fight between Hypernova and 198yds of heaven. Wollmeise 80/20 Twin, or Rowan Pure Wool Aran. Both purple, both very pretty yarns.

Of course the Wollmeise won!

Purple and brown loveliness.

The main draw (apart from it being the fabled Wollmeise) was that to use the yarn, I had to wind it, which meant getting out my shiny new swift, which I've had for nearly a month now and still hadn't used beyond getting it out of the box to test it worked.

First hurdle jumped - the skein fits!

Because of space issues, and table height issues, it turned into a two man job. Luckily, Jamie was on hand to help out.

He manned the winder, while I kept an eye on the swift. It has a tendancy to spin too quickly, and if you're not careful the yarn catches on the loops of metal where the corners are. But for £20, it was definitely worth the money!

With my yarn cake wound and looking beautiful (the colours look even nicer in the cake than they did in the skein), I faced my next new challenge - the long tail cast on. I found a really good video online, which made the whole thing a lot easier. I did struggle with estimating how long my tail should be though, I had a real Goldilocks moment as my first was too long, the second too short, and the third is, if not just right, then right enough! I certainly wasn't going to frog and re-do 126 stitches for the sake of wasting a few inches of yarn.

Look at the amazing colours!

The photo above shows my progress after getting back from knit night last night. Four rows into the first chart, and already I am comfortable with the pattern. The third hurdle with this project is that the pattern is entirely charted. No written instructions whatsoever. Luckily, the charts are very clear, and I've got the hang of them already. It helps, I think, once you've done a few rows, as you understand what the pattern is trying to achieve. It's a lot harder to visualise a knitting chart than it is a crochet chart. At least with a crochet chart, the stitch symbols actually vaguely resemble the stitches you are going to do!

Hopefully you can see in this picture the pointy bits starting to emerge. I've done a few more rows on it since taking this picture, and it really is taking shape very quickly. I think this might be my favourite project to date!

If you haven't already cast your vote, check out my post from yesterday and help me choose a yarn colour for my Leafy Fingerless Gloves! And don't forget to head on over to Tami's to see what the rest of the WIP Wednesday crowd are working on this week!