You may remember that I had two projects using 100% wool lined up for Wovember – some fingerless mitts and a hat and neck-warmer set. Well, it turns out that I really should plan ahead and make sure that I have everything necessary for projects at the outset. Admittedly, the hat/neck-warmer issue was simply a case of not knowing how much yarn I would require and discovering that I only had enough for the latter. Still, it is complete and Hannah has spun me some more yarn so I can make the hat… so that’s on hold until said yarn arrives. In the mean time, here’s a glimpse:

Detail of neck warmer

As for the mitts, believe it or not, the problem was not having the right needles! I always assume that I will have exactly what I need in this respect, as I have so many, but this project requires such fine needles, that I simply didn’t have any. I love knitting on wooden needles, but the most slender ones are very fragile and they warp, so I bit the bullet and ordered some KnitPro Karbonz: so many people have raved about these, that I decided it was time to give them a go. They are expensive, but I hope they will be long-lived.

I’ve got plenty of yarn… the wool from Karen is the top three cakes on the right

So, while I’m waiting for more wool and more needles, what to do? As the rain poured down on Sunday afternoon, I decided to spend some time browsing Ravelry for inspiration about what I might do with some of the yarn in my stash. I could simply have knitted some more socks (I’ve got quite a bit of sock yarn squirrelled away), but there are three cakes of yarn that have been calling to me recently and I wanted to see if I could find a suitable project. The story behind this particular yarn goes back to a post written a long time ago by Karen (of Sweet Baby Veg). Karen was having a tough time and wrote about some horrible mail she had received. I felt so much sympathy that I decided to try to counter this by sending her something lovely in the post. So, I made a bag for her and sent it off. In return, she sent me some yarn. However, apart from using a tiny bit of it to make a square for the masterpiece, it’s been sitting in my stash ever since until inspiration struck.

My quest on Sunday was to find something to make that would allow me to use this yarn but wasn’t a hat, scarf, socks, mitts or shawl. In total, I have about 300g of this wool, but I also have lots of other wool… so what about a multi-coloured garment? The texture of the wool suggested outer-wear to me… which would certainly mean adding more yarn from my stash. And finally I came across the perfect pattern: the circular Dreamcatcher Top. This is going to be perfect to snuggle in to when I’m editing and it shouldn’t fall off my shoulders, as shawls have the tendency to do. So, yesterday evening I made a start:

The dream begins

I’m not sure that I would have gone out and bought the colour-combination that I’m using, but that random element of just incorporating what I have (I need 100g each of 10 colours) seems to be working. And, anyway, this is turning out to be a huge stash-buster, which can’t be a bad thing!

-oOo-

Just for information, the wool is from various producers: New Lanark, Sirdar, Emu, The Natural Fibre Company, Tavistock Tastes and Textures (this is the wool from Karen) and Jamieson’s of Shetland