Secret of the Stole

I’m participating in the Secret of the Stole KAL by DK the Nautical Knitter. I’m very far behind on the clues, but I finished the first corner of this beaded stole this morning. I’m revising the parts of the pattern that look like large spiders to me, but I haven’t gotten that far in the knitting yet.

Completed left point:

Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow; color: Vineyard Heather. The beads, size 6, are from a local bead shop. I tried knitting this with #8 beads, but they were too tiny and it became aggravating and no longer fun. Size 6 is perfect.

However, the new Harmony needles in my Knitpicks Options set are so colorful that it’s more difficult to see the yarn than if the needles were a light bamboo. So I just ordered Addi lace needles and will switch over to those when they arrive. But I did not want to buy more needles!

On the right point (in-progress), you can see the lack of contrast between yarn and needle:

It is a pretty needle and extremely lightweight. But if your lighting isn’t perfect, the needles seem darker and the colors blend in with the yarn more.

Update: I switched to the Addi Lace needles and switched back to the Knitpicks Harmony needles because the hole in the Harmony cable connection is so handy for lifelines. Lifelines are critical for this stole project; I insert one about every 6-10 rows (depending on how the knitting is going!).

 ”Reflections” (recent artwork)

Today is my mom’s birthday and I miss her; she passed away last year. Still, maybe she can hear me. Happy birthday, Mom—I love you!