Something to aspire to.

Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft?

There are two patterns I aspire to doing, both require a lot of work and skill but they use different skills.   Both are a wee bit down my queue as well cos  they're a little scary.

The first is the Winter Wonderland Coat.  It's scary because it's big and got plenty of cables.  I've already got the yarn I'm going to use, Purewool Merino 3-ply in the colourway named Storm which is a deep plum.  In the meantime I'm working up to it by doing a Central Park Hoodie with a more complicated cable pattern; at least I will be once my current projects are finished, including the KAL and pattern testing I've committed to in the next month.

The second I'm working my way up to, I'll post photo's of what I'm going to knit first to get my  tension correct and the last photo will be the ultimate colourwork jersey that I'm aiming for.

The first step is the Nightingale sock pattern by Morag of Vintage Purls; I actually have the kit, but might change the colour for the birds as I feel they disappear a bit.

Gryffindor Pride socks by Ann Kingstone, I've bought the pattern, the background will be knit in Patonyle Red, the lions will probably be either in Honey Bear (brown/yellow) or Clemantine (shades of orange) by Vintage Purls.

Another Ann Kingstone design, this is the Knitcamp Vest.  I printed this out back when it was free and ordered the yarn kit from Jamieson and Smith all in Shetland wool; I love their wool and I'm pretty sure there will be some steeking in this so the Shetland will be a good choice.

Queen of Scotts from The New Stranded Colorwork by Mary Scott Huff.  She used Jamieson's yarn from memory, but I prefer Jamieson and Smith so worked out equivilents and ordered from my favourite.  This one definitely has steeking in it.

This is what I'm aiming at.  This is Henry VIII by Alice Starmore.  I've bought the kit for this as the book is out of print.  So I've got a box with the pattern and the full compliment of yarn in the above colours in her Hebridean yarn.  It wasn't cheap so I have to make sure I know what I'm doing before I tackle this one.

In the meantime I'm still working on my Bug-Out mittens which are giving me a little more experience in stranded colourwork and also designing.   Designing is probably my final goal.  I've done the wee socks and working on the gloves but would love to design something in the way of a cardigan or jersey.