Some projects are so large that it’s almost counterproductive to sum up the parts. This undyed stole is one such item.
I started this little (huge) enterprise in January knowing that it would take some fortitude to turn nearly 2000 yards of lace weight yarn into a rather large rectangle on rather tiny needles. This project required a pretty long cast on — nearly 350 stitches — but the hardest part of the whole process was coming up with more than 40 stitch markers that weren’t already committed to a WIP (yarn-speak for Work in Progress).
The nice thing about the pattern (if you can call it that) is that once the stitches are on the needles, it’s just a matter of switching knits and purls at the markers until I either run out of yarn or forget where I left it. This stole has become my favorite project to work on while talking or reading. Even so, I go entire months without so much as glancing at it. Luckily, we have one of those friendships where you can go ages without talking and then pick right up where you left off.
The yarn is an undyed alpaca-bamboo blend that is lovely to knit. I’m currently working on the 6th of what will eventually be 8 different stripes. The subtle, natural shading — three shades of gray and five shades of brown — adds to the zen quality of slowly working along each of these long rows.
73,272 stitches down. 36,808 stitches to go.
You know, if you’re counting.
Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting. What do we do? We knit. Knit.*
*With apologies to Ellen Degeneres.
About Gina Lynette
Jump rings that you can find in the jewelry section of Michaels or AC Moore are great for use as stitch markers. They come in different sizes, have a lot in the package, and are cheap.
What a fantastic idea, Sandi! I suppose the jump rings are what some folks use to make the fancier stitch markers, no? I’ll wander over to the jewelry section next time I’m at the craft store and see what they have available. Thanks!