It’s been all work and knitting around here – and rowing, of course, but just on the erg. Work’s been giving me some very interesting projects, though I feel like I’m still not knitted in here as deeply as I’d like. Still working on that – I want to be in the kind of position where when I walk down the hall everyone stops me to talk about something we were working on together or something they want to let me know about or something they want an opinion on, but that level of involvement takes time to build. This place is definitely in transition, and that always makes for interesting opportunities and challenges.
I’m working on Ysolda Teague’s Follow Your Arrow Mystery Knit-Along (MKAL). It’s a shawl, but that’s all I know. The directions come out in 5 “clues”, with a new one issued each Monday, so you don’t really know what it will look like until it’s done. This is an especially mysterious MKAL, though, because each clue has two options. Combine that with the choice to knit it in a single color or striped and there are 64 different possibilities. At each level you make a new choice; it’s designed so that either of the choices will follow on to any previous choices. We’re only at the first clue now, but the two options are entirely different shapes, so I think those 64 possiblities are all going to be very distinct from each other.
I chose clue 1B – here’s a link to a couple of early project photos, in order to avoid spoilers for anyone else participating who doesn’t want to see it. With flash | Without flash
I’m not sure if I’d want to do another MKAL, though – or if I do, I will decide on it with care. Apparently I am too competitive for these things. It bothered me that so many people have already finished their first clues (some finished them the first night!), so I pushed ahead and finished mine last night instead of knitting at my own pace and figuring I’d have til next Monday. And then, of course, I had nothing to knit on and had to start something new. (I generally don’t have more than two projects going at once, more often only one.) I did briefly consider socks, but I have caved and started a new shawl using the other clue.
But just now while writing about this on Ravelry, the frenzy wore off enough to let the clue-bat hit me. We’ve been talking about having me make a couple of hangings knitted of mitered squares using up sock yarn leftovers, to hang above the shelves on either side of our mantel.This would be a perfect time to get started on that. I think I’m going to rip out that barely-started shawl, and I might even use a lot of its yarn in the hangings, since the colors go well with the rug in that room. Plus, since that will be a longterm project, I won’t mind putting it aside when the Olympics begin – I want to do a new project as part of the Ravelry Games (formerly Ravelympics), whose goal is to cast on during Opening Ceremonies and finish sometime before the end of the Closing Ceremonies.
It’s probably adding unnecessary stress to do two time-challenged knitting projects in a row, but I really did want to do these. The Follow Your Arrow MKAL is appealing for a bunch of reasons: Ysolda is a designer who’s gained popularity for creating a bunch of really cool stuff; the clothes are flattering to a variety of people, the toys are adorable, and she creates a lot of interesting constructions. Also, though I don’t normally like Knit-Alongs (because really, why would I care to be doing the same project at the same time as other people?) this one has gotten so big that it sort of feels like a bit of knitting history. Well over 2000 people are participating; nearly 2400 have created Ravelry project pages and it’s impossible to know how many more are knitting along. The Olympic project, on the other hand, just makes sense for me; Olympics are the only time when I’m glued to the TV every night for a few weeks, so it’s a perfect time to knit. I’m going to do something bright and multi-colored – it won’t be an actual rainbow probably, but close enough to be my own little way of protesting against Russian anti-LGBTQ laws. (I’ve decided not to avoid the Games, because 1) I think previous large-scale boycotts of Olympic events hurt the athletes more than anyone else, and 2) my own tiny boycott would have even less impact on the government at fault than the miniscule impact my speaking out can have. At least the latter has the potential to add to the ripple effect.) I may also knit or crochet a token square from a bit of rainbow yarn I have just to have a more recognizable rainbow project to post.