My first KAL

So, I've decided to join in my first-ever knit-along.  It's a pretty open idea, with the challenge of knitting a cowl, there's no specific pattern.  Start date is September 22nd, end date of October 6th.

However, I'm not usually much of a cowl person.  If I want something around my neck, I'd rather have a scarf.  That being said, I love hoods.   Now, if it gets cold enough, yes, I want a proper hat, but hoods are great when the weather is cool-but-not-cold, or to wear under/over a hat when it gets really cold.

When I saw the Evening Star cowl, I fell in love.   I'm a Lord of the Rings fan, and so the entire e-book appealed to me.  Pretty much everything in that e-book has gone into my Ravelry queue, which is actually kind of exciting.

That, and it was a wonderful marriage of yarn and pattern -- remember that Malabrigo Sock in Solis that I won a while ago?   Well, it just seemed to completely suit the pattern.


Unfortunately, I don't have a free set of 4mm circulars, except a short 9 inch Aero circular.  I've tried swatching on that (we're allowed to swatch, we just have to start from scratch on the 22nd), and it works.  Sort of.

While, yes, I can jam 144 stitches onto the 9 inch circ, it's not pleasant to do so, and yes, it is the right size, but the Aero tips (these are quite old Aeros, they were originally my mother's knitting needles) are very round and I find I'm more pushing the yarn around then knitting properly. 

Unfortunately, apparently it's hard to find 4mm needles!  My LYS apologized profusely, but they didn't have any 4mm circulars (in any length). (It's not their fault, they're waiting on some orders).  And I won't get the opportunity to  go to another LYS until at least this Tuesday, after the start date, and there's no guarantee they'll have the needles I want.  Considering I'm not a fast knitter, I don't want to wait until Tuesday (possibly later) to properly cast on. I'm going to need every second of my knitting time to attempt to make this deadline.

So, I'm going to start on the Aero needles, and I've gone and ordered a 24 inch 4mm Hiya Hiya circular from EatSleepKnit with my newest order of yarn.  If it arrives in time, I will switch to it, if not, I have it for another project.