Shawl Ahead...

I've spent the last week in Maryland, horribly confused as to the date and the time. Jumping forward and then going ahead another hour in the time zones all in one week is not something I can regularly recommend. However, in the days before packing up, I got started on one of my Spring Loopy Academy projects: beading.

I had ordered two skeins of Wollmeise DK (936 yards) in the Feldmaus colorway. It's brown, mostly, also looks kind of purple in some lights, so I also got dark purple beads. The cast on alone took a fair amount of time. I'm knitting Isen, which is lovely and which is not small. Obviously I am still struggling to take that "only needs to be 250 yards per project" to heart. At least this is the largest of the three projects? 

The first chart (800+ stitches) had over 50 repeats. I decided it was best if I separated each repeat with stitch markers. This served me well but it was a challenge to find that many stitch markers. Once I finished the chart, the stitch markers came out. Here's what that pile looked like.  Unsurprisingly, they do not match. But you can spot the adorable hedgehogs, right? 

Sibling-the-Younger lives in rural Maryland and the shawl got to spend some quality time in his backyard, hanging out by the fire pit. (Not--of course--during marshmallow roasting time. Yarn and beads plus fire and sticky sugar is a combination that I can only imagine would end poorly.) 

And then I knit through a professional conference. Sitting on the sidelines, beading hook in hand. I think I only left a few beads behind.  

By the time I got to this last picture, taken in the cab on my way to the airport, I was through the first major beading section and onto the third section, which involves short rows. This almost mindlessly took me home, with a detour on the flight to rewind the second skein of wool after it had turned into a giant collapsing disaster.  

Today I finished the short rows and I've one more chart to go. It's only 8 rows and the stitch count is far more reasonable, but it's beaded and while I'll brave beads on the floor in a dark keynote, the CTA is an entirely different question. 

I packed 4 projects with me but only worked on two. I need to get sorted when exactly I'm going to work on the gloves. I think the cowl might be mindless enough for train knitting this week and the socks that have been hanging out on my desk at work might finally see some love as well.  

Or I might just start another pair of socks. We'll see what the week brings.