Osborn Fiber Studio

In this series of posts, I’m sharing about some big FOs that came off the needles in the last couple of months. Today, I’m going to share about a project that followed me all along our summer of travel: The Goff Place Mystery KAL that was part of the KDD “Summer of Mystery” club.

Step one, back in April, was to sign up. We all got a welcome packet, with instructions on how swatch and choose colours. I turned to my not-inconsiderable stash of Milarrochy Tweed and selected, by long process, the following: a dark (Backen, the brick-red), a light (Hirst, the off-white), two mid-range shades (Tarbet, the royal blue, and Smirr, the light blue), and a pop colour (Stockiemuir, the yellow-green). I knew I’d have to be careful with how I combined the two blues and the green, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. I was pleased with the unusual choice of the red for my dark; it is indeed darker in value than you can tell in this photo. It gave the assemblage a vintage feeling, like old leather and smoky rooms.

The first clue came out soon after we arrived in Maryland, and I knit that first clue while in our odd, proud little home state. Before I was done the first repeat of colours, I ran into a contrast problem. It was clear that I couldn’t put Smirr and Stockiemuir next to each other. They were too close in value.

I started over, and found that Hirst was an acceptable level of contrast to both Smirr and Stockiemuir. This is after the second attempt at the first colour repeat:

And almost done the second repeat. It was fun to knit this clue alongside my mom, who also knit the mystery shawl. You can see it here on my parents’ coffee table, with a small selection from their improbable choir of remotes.

And here it is finished, with edging, in the context of the whole shawl.

The second clue I knit entirely while we were in Scotland. It involved a cast on along one edge of the previous mitered square, and the knitting of what can only be described as a miniature version of a traditional hap.

It meant a good deal to me to knit this clue in Scotland, and lo, even to lay my knitting on the knee of the famous tree at Milarrochy bay. This is the knobbly little tree for which the yarn is named, near where Kate used to live, and of which a graphic representation is printed on every ball band. I’ve used this yarn so much over the last few years that I feel a special connection to it.

I even started the centre white section while at Kate’s place, and got to discuss with her the decision of which decreases to use when eating up inner stitches. It was a perfectly ordinary discussion, and I managed not to make a fool of myself, but come on. If you have ever been a nerd about anything, you must know that was a pretty special moment.

Like the nerd I am, I took footage of myself knitting said shawl at the foot of said tree, and you can see it in episode 121 of the Wool Circle.

I finished clue 2 on our last day in Scotland. Here it is on the way to the airport, after visiting with my friend Becca.

And finally, blocked within the context of the finished shawl.

Clue 3 I knit while we were in Ireland. This clue was fairly quick and simple, with large wedges of colour that complemented the white block in the middle of clue 2. It kept me company during our intense week at Sligo, which was spiritually wonderful, but it was good to unwind with an audiobook and garter stitch at the end of the day.

It trails off one end of the shawl.

The fourth clue came out at the beginning of August, and I knit a lot of it during my long weekend trip to Calgary. I had to knit the second wedge twice because I mixed up the colours, but I’m definitely glad that I went back and re-did it, because I love the final arrangement. Here it is on the hotel bed in Calgary:

And here is the finished clue on the plane ride back home.

In the finished shawl, the arrangement of lights, darks, and pops make for a really special fade. I adore the intersection of curving lines with fanning straight lines, accomplished with slip stitches, and the contrast of these complex wedges with the simple wedges on the other end.

In September, we received a final clue with instructions for finishing. These were mostly to bring the whole thing together with an i-cord edging along every edge except the curves of the wedge sections.

One of the fun parts of the Summer of Mystery was that it was not just a knit-along, but a read-along. The club included patterns inspired by ten of Margery Allingham’s mystery novels, and I read about six of them. Towards the end I got distracted by podcasts, so I confess that I did not get through the book that inspired this pattern. I do gather, however, that it involves a bus and a circuitous route through London. I enjoyed the way the different patterns reminded me of road markings and signage. I will certainly enjoy returning to the book series, if I ever escape the grip of my current podcast obsession.

The resulting shawl is large and comforting. It has a certain zaniness to it, not unlike some of the Stephen West MKALs that I’ve observed from afar. I’ve participated in MKALs before, even designed a few many years ago, but those always lace- or texture-based, never colour-based. I imagine it’s difficult to design one that’s visually coherent. Part of me still really wants to add something to the big white square. I’m thinking of this embroidered plaid piece by Franklin Habit, which is just added to a garter stitch background. If I ever decide to do it, I’ll let you know, but part of me also enjoys the negative space.

I mean, reality check, I don’t wear shawls that often. But this one I had to make, for the process and participation more than anything else. Sometimes I do reach for a shawl, on days that I have a chill from sitting in front of my desk for too long, or when I want to look cute for a recording without putting in too much effort. I think this one fits my colour palette perfectly. I like wearing it like this, with my favourite clue front and centre.

It was very special to have this piece travel with me this summer. It was the perfect companion and souvenir – four clues on the four-month trip of a lifetime. Thanks, Kate, for a delightful journey!