I really can’t stop finishing projects, which would be great for busting my stash if I could stop buying more yarn (seriously, these indie dyers need to stop being so amazing at their jobs).
One of those amazing dyers is my girl Lauren from lolodidit. If you subscribe to Knitability (a Bakery Bears publication that I’m the editor of, NBD), then you’ll have read my interview with her last year, which was absolutely enchanting. I’ve been a big fan for years and used to drop entire (okay, maybe 30%) paychecks on her colorways, going so far as to make chunky hats for everyone I know with her bulky yarns one Christmas.
Anyway - and I promise these thoughts are connected - I was on the fence about joining 2021’s WestKnits MKAL, which is a Mystery Knit-A-Long where we get a “clue” (ie: new pattern section) every week for four weeks - and we have no idea what the finished product will look like. I never complete these shawls within the month because that’s usually right around when I start my Christmas knitting. Plus, this time around, I also did this little thing called “getting married” that required a bit of a time investment. So… I straight-up was going to skip this round and worry about it in the spring if it looked cool.
Until I saw Lauren’s kits. Oh. My. Stars. I knew I was in trouble even before I clicked the link in her email announcing the kits and might as well have just thrown money at my screen. But I mean… look at it and tell me it wasn’t worth it, right?
Also, I’m just saying, there are still Shawlography kits available on her website. Yup. Just saying.
Well, I finished the first section and a significant chunk of section two before the wedding, then picked it up here and there on our honeymoon because 18 hours in a car and endless hanging out at breweries will do that to you. But I didn’t finish it until earlier this week and honestly, that’s such a feat for me. I usually shove these things away come November to focus on other things and don’t pick them up again until it’s almost time for the next MKAL, but this time, I finished it within a quarter. I’m a superhero.
…if you ignore the fact some people finish each section in like a day, but whatever.
I really really really love this thing, despite having doubts. As Stephen West says in literally every tutorial video, “Just. Trust.” And I’m glad I did cuz those loops were throwing me for a - wait for it - loop and I wasn’t sure where this was headed.
I’m not sure what it is about WestKnits shawls specifically, but I’m a moth to a flame whenever a new one is released. In fact, I have another kit from Teal Torch Knits sitting around waiting for my job to stop asking me to do the jobbing and have time to knit all the things. They can feel tedious at some points, especially when you’re toward the end and a single row takes 45 minutes to knit across because there are 2,000 stitches on your needles… but oh, boy. Once those million-and-one ends are woven in and you go to take a picture, these shawls might as well be works of art and I can’t wait to sport mine for the rest of winter.