Stashdown - March Challenge

The Stashdown challenge in March was to finish old WIPs. I have a few. I still have a few, but I managed to get 3 of the oldest ones off the needles.

One of those old projects was a Freya shawl [Rav project] that I started in 2011 in a Mary Maxim acrylic I inherited. Abi love the shape of it and would like one of her own.  This shawl had been sitting around, not on needles, for so long that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to figure out where I was in the pattern and that stitches would have dropped.  I have a lot more experience knitting now, so I carefully got all the stitches back on the circs (it's a fluffy yarn; few stitches needed fixing) and simply 'read' the pattern elements to continue.  I did find a mistake several rows below that had affected the size of one of the pattern repeats, but I just maintained the pattern set in that section and I'm the only one who'll ever know to even look for the error.  It still needs blocking.

Incidentally, I dug out this project on Pi Day to finish because of its shaping.

There was also this Takenoko stole [Rav project] that I purchased at Shall We Knit? in New Hamburg as a kit - before the LYS moved to Waterloo, ON. Repetitive scarf patterns bore me quickly, but the colour changes of the Noro did help and the pattern [pattern link] is lovely. It was my "I should grab something for the car and everything else right now is too big/beaded/complicated" project for a long time.

My greatest Old WIP accomplishment this month, however, was to finish my Sabbatical cardi.   This started life as a "pre-twins Sabbatical" but soon became the "not-pre-twins Sabbatical" [Rav project]. There are more than enough notes in my Ravelry project page discussing the story of this knit, but suffice to say there was a lot of frogging/reknitting involved and a lot of time passed with this stuffed in a bag in frustration.

A beautiful lace design.
I love my finished sweater and in time I'll forget the great frustrations of knitting it.

I have become increasingly focused on knitting myself garments. I went for many years thinking garments were beyond me - which in retrospect is silly given the complexity of lace I was knitting.

After finishing February's lace top (which is now blocked and looks fantastic, if I may say so myself), I started a cotton top for myself.  This is a Cumulus Tee. It was a fun and quick knit. I'm learning to appreciate the simplicity of large sections of stockinette.

As comfy as PJ pants!

Evidence that I blocked the lace top. Now we need warm weather.

Speaking of the lace top I knit in Cuba, I also finished the lace shawl I was knitting there. This Seeds to Flowers is amazing! I love this design and the luxury yarn is divine.

What else? I whipped up this doll dress on St. Patty's Day. It was intended for twins' babies, but was a little too big. It fits on Abi's larger doll nicely.

I also finished a pair of Angularities Armwarmers for myself - to coordinate with Abi's.  Technically I still need to seam them - today? - but for the purposes of the stashdown, only the knitting counts.

In total, I completed 5130yds of project knitting (not all of that knitting was this month!).
What I failed to complete was my sister's blanket. I did manage to put edges on most of the squares. The blanket is my nemesis. Every time I try to work on it, something goes wrong.