Are you still knitting?

It has been quite some time since the KAL started, some of us have finished and some have discovered that the stole was not for them. Sometimes I feel that it is a legitimate question to ask, "Are you still knitting (on the FPS)?"

Well, I am happy to tell you that the answer is definitely positive! Without giving much detail, Carine let us know that she is still working on hers. We hope a photo is on its way!

Denise's FPS has grown to Tier 25. Yes, she added 4 more tiers to make it to her desired length. She should be working on the border now, which she decided to dropped the method in the pattern. Instead she would pick up stitches and knit the seed stitch. Let's see how that would turn out.

Busy gal Heather is making slow progress:Keep going, Heather, even if it is one row at a time. You are doing great.

Leigha has switched her project to the KnitPicks Harmony needles. It seems that she loves the wooden needles more:She is now at Tier 3.

Micky's multi-colored FPS never stops to amaze me with its color changes:Lovely, isn't it? Half way through Tier 5 already!

And of course, we have Dawn's FPS modeled shot this time:You can see more photos in her blog.

But of course, there are still some of you who are in a somewhat limbo, like Janina, who emailed me this:

"Hello, Agnes and everyone. Janina here, having recently picked up knitting needles after a busy summer. There has been knitting, honest. I finished a modular knitted stole, an Iris Schrier design, for my MIL. Now her shoulders can stay warm in the air conditioning.

I re-knit my first sock. I am up to the exciting heel turn part. The first time I knit this sock, it came out big enough for Sasquatch. It's looking more human-sized this time.

But the beauteous, the awe-inspiring, Forest Path Stole? Not even swatched. I could not explain my reluctance. I tune in for the updates on the KAL page. I revel in the progress reports and in the glorious Finished Photos. But beginning my own has a decidedly "meh" factor. I finally, after much stash-and-navel gazing, figured it out.

It's the yarn. It's not perfect. I have in my stash Cherry Tree Hill alpaca in Birches. Too many color changes, not enough yardage, and besides, that is slated for Kiri.
I have a large amount of Zephyr in Blueberry. A forest motif in denim blue doesn't seem right. I bought more Zephyr, in vanilla. A good plain, go-with-everything shade that will showcase the exquisite lace work. Utterly logical and reasonable choice, I had a hard time explaining to myself (after the package came in the mail) that it wasn't quite ....right.

I am a very emotional and intuitive person. When I think of the Forest Path, when I look at the motifs, the first thing I see is birch leaves against a blue spring sky. And then, lily of the valley, the shade of the new shoots deepened by shadows and earth. How can I find a yarn that perfectly expresses that? To further complicate things, green is a color I do not wear easily, and do not have much of it in my wardrobe. Yet, green it must be. Not too emerald, not new-leaf green, not yellow toned at all... only the perfect green will do. The stole is flatly refusing to even consider anything else.

I have googled and searched for so long, but I need help. I need the perfect color. A blue-toned green, perhaps a "near solid" type of hand paint? I greatly admire the JoJoLand Harmony that Mickey is using, and her nearly-solid green is so close, but ultimately too balanced green a green. If there were a yarn with a looong color change into a sky blue here and there, well that would be just IT, you know?

Does this yarn exist? I know working with a yarn artist is possible, but budget is an unfortunate shackle here. All comments gratefully accepted.

Janina in Canada, where it is getting cold enough to think of shawls on a daily basis"


Any thoughts and ideas to share?

P.S. I must apologize to Debi for not forwarding the updates to her last month since I was caught in my Mother-in-Law's visit ... I didn't even realize it was time for the update until she has left! :P