It's Time to Play the Music...

Pattern: The Muppet Shawl by Mary Annarella (Link to pattern page in the Lyrical Knits Payhip shop🔗)

Started:

Finished:

Made for: Síle aka Me

Yarn: Briggs & Little Sport (100% wool; 430yds = 113g)

• xxg (start wght: ~226g (ball 1: 119g); final wght: xxg) of "16 Black" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: 93g; final wght: xxg) of "73 Red" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: 101g; final wght: xxg) of "32 Orange" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: ~80g; final wght: xxg) of "37 Yellow" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: 117g; final wght: xxg) of "65 Paddy green" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: 102g; final wght: xxg) of "42 Blue Heather" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: 82g; final wght: xxg) of "47 Light Blue" = ___ yds
• xxg (start wght: ~75g; final wght: xxg) of "55 Violet" = ___ yds

Total yardage: ____ yds

Needle size: 4mm/US 6

Notes & Photos:

Jan 26: I love the Muppets. I've loved the Muppets since the original show; Mum loves to remind me of how I'd hear the theme song start, and I'd run to the tv from wherever I was in the apartment, and grab onto the table it sat on and "dance", and then sit there enthralled. (To clarify, I was just past 1.5 yrs old when it debuted in Canada)

I had the comic of Muppets Take Manhattan, and had it memorized before I saw the movie. My most played Yuletide song is "Twelve Days of Christmas" being sung by John Denver and the Muppets (Fiiiivvvvvve goooolllldd riiings ba-dum-dum-dum!) "Rainbow Connection" still works as a lullaby or pick-me-up when I need either

I love them all but have especial soft spots for Fozzie, Aminal (this is not a typo; I declared him Aminal at a very you g age and that's his name), Rowlf, and of course, Kermit

All of that being said, it just makes sense that I would participate in a Muppet themed mkal. Plus it's a Mary/Lyrical Knits mkal, and they're too much fun :)

Now onto the hard part: finding appropriate yarn! Kermit arm flail

Feb 23: I think I'm going with stash. I'm not 100% on the exact colors yet but I have enough B&L S around to definitely do this; yes, it's under sport weight but I find it works more as a heavy fingering than a sport. I have 2 hanks of black and partial balls of red, orange, yellow, green, 2 (or is it 3) blues, and purple. I'm also using some colors for my Colorica Cardigan (lavender, light green, 1 of the blues, &?) so I'll have to watch yardages

I've added in the colors not already earmarked for Colorica. I see keeping the colors in their Roy G Biv order for this

Feb 25: Got a good pic of the yarn today. 

With Jakey's help of course 😹 Whatever would I do without his furry guidance when it comes to "da wools"?

Also can we say yay! for sunshine? It's been so gloomy with all the snowstorms and the rain and wind last night!

Feb 27 (7:59pm NST): Sistwerp gifted me the pattern so I can start on Friday! 🥰 (I was gonna wait until payday on the 16th to get it) Yay!

Now I need to locate a 3.75mm needle (I own several), and wind one hank of black, the hank of green, and try to decide if I want to use light blue or blue heather in this, and which I want to use in my Colorica (which is in timeout while I get the amazing cloak of moss stitch done lol) Balance between personal and work wips? Never heard of her 😉😹

Feb 29 (1:26am NST): Clue 1 is out tomorrow!!

Ok, I need to set my colors:

MC = black

C1 = red

C2 = orange

C3 = yellow

C4 = paddy green

C5 = light blue or blue heather

C6 = violet

I'm leaning ever so slightly to the light blue. But I also like the light blue for my Colorica. Decisions decisions decisions... unless I can order another hank of light blue soon. Hmmm... I like that solution best honestly

There's Something Strange, in the Neighborhood

Pattern: Who Ya Gonna Shawl? mkal by Lyrical Knits (Link to pattern page in Lyrical Knits' Payhip shop🔗)

Start: February 24, 2023

Finish:

Made for: Dana... Kidding, it's for Síle aka Me as my birthday present to myself. Turning 45 has to have some perks!

Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply (40% wool, 35% Bluefaced Leister, 25% nylon; 437yds/400m = 100g)

• __g of "333 Blue raspberry" (C1)(start wght: ???g; end wght: ??g) = ???yds
• __g of "325 Cornflower" (C2)(start wght: ???g; end wght: ??g) = ???yds
• __g of "365 Blueberry bonbon" (C3)(start wght: ???g; end wght: ??g) = ???yds
• __g of "11 Marshmallow" (CC)(start wght: ???g; end wght: ??g) = ???yds

Total yards: 

Needle size: 3.75mm x2 

Notes & Photos:

January 25: Bought the pattern this morning 😊 I honestly wanted to get in on 'The Knights Who Say Knit' & 'As You Wish', previous mkals by Lyrical Knits (aka Mary Annarella), but couldn't justify the spends for the yarn. I'm turning 45 in a few weeks damn it! I'm splurging on a pattern and 4 hanks of pretty yarn to make it with to celebrate Me 🎉 And with a doctor's appointment in Town on Tuesday morning, I can shop in person at Wool Trends for my yarn 🧶 Squeeeee!! Yarn shopping!!!! 

Ok, so I'm just gonna copy over a few details from the Planning Sheet I received after buying the pattern:

4 full skeins of 4 different colors ("C1, C2, C3, and the CC") of fingering weight that play nicely with each other.  Any of them can be slightly speckled, but I wouldn't recommend it be much busier than that.  • Each skein needs to have 400 ysd or more to make sure that you have enough yarn for the project.  The 400 yds includes some wiggle room. • The shawl will include (non-stranded ) colorwork, but not all the colors need to contrast with all the others.  Instead, only ONE of the colors, the CC, needs to contrast with the rest. • “CC” is the Contrasting Colorway (might even give it the name Slimer). • CC needs to contrast with C1, C2, and C3 since it will be used in colorwork with each of these 3 colors individually. • C1, C2, and C3 don’t have to have much contrast with each other—they much only contrast individually with the CC. • C1, C2, and C3 can be in a gradient (or not) but they should harmonize with each other since they will still be right next to each other in the shawl. 

And I need 2 circular needles in the same size (24inch min), plus 3 st markers (one locking).

Oh! The clue schedule!:

There will be **6 clues** for the mkal:
Clue 1 drops on Feb 24th (first thing in the am EDT), with clues 2-6 releasing on March 3rd, March 10th, March 16th, March 24th, and March 31st.

So now I just need to get into Town and go yarn shopping. Such a hardship ;)

January 31: Got my yarn today! I'm madly in love with my color choices. These are very Síle colors: a blue-green, a purpley-blue, and a green-blue with a cream as the Contrast Color (aka Slimer). The cream is called "Marshmallow" so shades of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man anyone? lol I've listed the colors in order: C1, C2, C3, and CC.

Now I "just" need to have patience for Clue 1 drop on the 24th!

February 23: I have my needles ready and I've found the ends in all of my yarn skeins :) All set for Clue 1 dropping in the morning!

February 24 (10:03am NST): Clue 1 has arrived! And it starts with C1, Blue raspberry. Time to cast on!

(10:28am NST): The set-up is done:

(11:38am NST): Finished Venkman's Not QuiteWavy Lines :)

The next section uses colors C3 and CC. Yay! First use of Blueberry Bonbon and Marshmallow! Mmm, marshmallow...wait wrong franchise!

(2:08pm NST): And that does it for There Is Only Dana (ie chart 2):

And we're sticking with C3 and CC for the next bit too. Cool, let's do this!

(7:25pm NST): After a few round the house tasks, I was able to sit down and get "I'll take that as a big yes" done:

One more section to go! Well, for this week. I need C2 and CC for this part; Cornflower is introduced 😊

February 25 (8:40pm NST): Finished Full Torso Apparition 😊 And that's it for Clue 1! Final photo:

I really like the lacy bit in the final chart for this week. Can't wait for Friday and Clue 2!

March 7 (12:34am NST): I have casted on and knit the set-up for Clue 2 with C1! 

Onto the first section, Winston's Tell Him About the Twinkie 👻

(2:12am NST): Finished Winston's Tell Him About the Twinkie 😊

I'm pretty certain section 1 of both clues are identical. Which is cool. I know the next section, He Slimed Me!, is unique to Clue 2. It uses C3 and CC. I think I'll leave that until daylight though 🥱

March 8 (2:49am NST): Didn't have a spare moment until after the hockey game so I've only just finished He Slimed Me 👻

I've Quit Better Shawls Than This! is the title of section 3, and uses C3 & CC again. But I need to quit for the night 😉

March 16 (3:50pm NDT): Getting caught up today. Almost finished with I've Quit Better Shawls Than This! 😊

(5:51pm NDT): And done! 

Onto We Came, We Saw, We Kicked Its ** with C2.

March 17 (4:42am NDT): Finished We Came, We Saw, We Kicked Its ** 😊 And that finishes off Clue 2!

I can't wait to start Clue 3 after I get some sleep 😊

(9:36pm NDT): Time to get Clue 3 on the go! We're starting with C1, and continuing from where Clue 2 stopped. No triangle this time. Hmmm...

(10:09pm NDT): Set-up done and onto Marshmallow Goo! 😊 Staying with C1; here we go...

March 25 (1:14am NDT): Finished Marshmallow Goo 😊

Onto Okay, Who Brought the Dog? with C3 & CC...

March 27 (3:16am NDT): Finished Okay, Who Brought the Dog? 😊

I'll tackle Take The Stairs when daylight returns...

April 14 (11:24am NDT): So much for catching up! Am at day 15 of a tendinitis (multiple injuries to the same rotator cuff) flare *sigh* Soooooo bored!

May 31 (12:49pm NDT): Finally finished Take The Stairs 😊 Still having issues with numb fingers (pinkie and ring on left hand) but I can knit again. Ugh. 2 months lost. Any way here's Take The Stairs:

On to The Gatekeeper using CC and C1! Last chart for Clue 3!

(11:23pm NDT): And that's The Gatekeeper done:

And that means Clue 3 is done!

Onto Clue 4 soon, which starts with C3 and a short row, and then goes into Ecto 1 (chart). Fun!

June 5 (8:34pm NDT): Been distracted the last couple days but tonight I'm starting Clue 4. I have my C3 ready, and am starting with a short row and then onto Ecto 1; let's do this!