Halele'a Knit Along................and the first Yarn Along post of the year.

"Brown paper packages tied up with string,

these are a few of my favourite things"

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas and here's to a Happy, Healthy 2014. I received this package just before Christmas, all the way from the U.S.A., it was a little Christmas gift to myself. 

What's inside you are wondering, well two of my favourite Podcasters, joined forces. Mel from Single Handed Knits and Stacie, one half of the Must Stash Podcast. Mel wrote a beautiful pattern called Halele'a, a sweet little cardigan, partly knitted in pieces then picking up stitches and knitting the bottom half in one piece using Stacie's gorgeous, hand-dyed yarn. How could I resisit!!!!!!

Before I even opened my package I was excited, seeing it wrapped in brown paper, tied with twine with a tag and palm tree stitch marker, there was also a hand written "Aloha" postcard. 

When I opened it up, there were two huge skeins of squishy, soft yarn, 1500 yards of Superwash Merino in the colour Kau Pua. Can you see a theme running through here? Yes, it's all about the beautiful Hawaii, where Mel has recently moved from, so this pattern was inspired by her beloved Islands. Stacie custom dyed her Helluva Skeins in six gorgeous colours, all with inspiration from Hawaii.

The Halele'a KAL, officially started on the 26th December on the Must Stash Podcast Group over on Ravelry. This was the day we started swatching for our cardigan, Mel is big on swatching but more about that on another post coming soon. The first part of the pattern is all about the swatch!!!!!

This is my swatch, as you can see it's not your typical 4"x 4" swatch, I've never really swatched before but I've got to say, I really enjoyed this part of the pattern. It teaches you a lot about the pattern and the yarn you are using. The yarn was gorgeous before soaking and blocking but once it dried it came into it's own, the drape and the softness is amazing.

Week 1 was a short week and we are now on Week 2 where we will all start knitting the back. The joy of a KAL is all the help and encouragement you get along the way, if you are stuck on one part or just need advice, there will be somebody who will be able to sort you out. I've been writing down lots of notes for the upcoming year, hopefully I will be more organised.

 Hopefully, I should finish the back by the end of the week, ready for Week 3, but even if I don't, it doesn't matter. This KAL is very laid back and you go at your own pace, it's just nice to knit along with a group of friendly people, all knitting the same thing. It's not to late to join in, you don't have to use Stacie's yarn to be part of the group, you can find the pattern here. 

 I've started a new book called The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver, on my Kindle. I'm only a couple of chapters in but so far, so good, it's turning into an enjoyable read. I'm joining in with the first Yarn Along of the year, check out Ginny's beautiful blog.

Thanks for reading my first post of 2014, I'll be back in a couple of days about the joys of swatching, yes, Mel has converted me.

xxxxDebxxxx