A productive week

I started knitting this Stripe Study Shawl in natural alpaca last Wed and have made quite a bit of progress. Of course, each row gets longer and longer so it goes quickly in the beginning. I love knitting with the natural alpaca. The gray is Woodstock Knits Bare Alpaca in Silver Gray and the black is leftover from skeins that I bought at Rhinebeck a number of years ago.

I have a tip for you on how to tell whether you should increase or not when you are increasing every other row. I put 4 markers on the needle - 3 orange and 1 yellow. When the yellow is at the beginning of the row, I increase. When it is at the end of the row, I don't. I find this a lot easier than trying to keep track of it by putting a pin on the increase side. The pin tends to drop further and further below as you knit - so you have to move it up as you go. This color marking is easy and always on the needle so it is easy to check.

I also finished plying the Shetland top I've been spinning. I have to skein it and set the twist. Here are the two large bobbins of plied yarn. The color will keep changing and so don't rely on the colors that you see. I was able to ply every last bit by using a book and a pencil to create an Andean plying bracelet.

I am excited about finishing this as it is my first large spinning project. It is fairly even yarn and I think it will be very knittable.