appalachian knitting

Dave and I went on vacation to Kentucky last week. Not wanting to take along my increasingly heavy blanket in progress but also not wanting to have idle hands in the anticipated stretches of relaxation time (what a waste!), I started something new and colorful the week before we left. I began with a sort of blob of yarn like this:

And after a week ended up with this:

Not bad! Granted, it's currently a little lumpy because I haven't blocked it yet but still - finished! In a week and a half! I found the pattern by perusing Ravelry for a few days before our trip. I knew I wanted to take along my colorful experimental acrylic Mom got me last fall, but hadn't yet decided on a pattern. I have a harder time pairing variegated yarns with patterns so these lovely colors had been sitting in my stash waiting patiently for their turn. Searching for patterns other folks had made with this line of yarn (Red Heart Unforgettable) in the amount I had (2 skeins) turned up the Stitch Sampler Shawl.

It is essentially a rectangular wrap that has stripes of different stitch patterns. From the pictures I could see that this pattern is ideal for variegated yarns of all types. The section shown above is a double moss stitch (ish) that mixes the colors up in a way that makes them sparkle. It's my favorite part of the piece. Even though I don't like actually knitting long rows of k1, p1, it was totally worth it.

There are also sections of these neat loopy stitches that are made from dropping multiple yarn-overs. The effect is somewhat like hairpin lace crochet. Having never tried that before I can't say which is easier to do. These were the fiddliest rows in the whole thing to knit, though. They look a little floppy but I think they'll look nicer when everything is blocked out. 

It was quite a nice vacation, with most of the knitting time spent on a camp chair in the middle of the Appalachian mountains out of range of both internet and phone, truly unplugged. Downpours, bug spray, shitzus, canoes, banjos, and dulcimers all went into the making of this, jumbled and juxtaposed into the week much like the stitches themselves.