Do you remember, a few weeks back, that I was talking about encouraging myself along on a big project?

Here’s an updated photo of that big project: My Golden Wheat Shawl. I have added about 5cm [2in] all round since the start of the month.

Now I know that doesn’t sound very impressive, and you are probably wondering why I’ve called this blog post milestone…

Well this week I have wound the second skein of yarn!

Look at that lovely big ball of yarn ready to be turned into wheat! It’s funny to think that the little ball at the bottom of the photo started off that size too.

I’m not quite ready to knit with it. Indeed the small ball of remaining laceweight from the first skein is likely to last far longer than I imagine. But it feels small enough that I should prepare. I didn’t want to be ready to knit with no yarn ready to go. That would have been AWFUL!

I now have a few other projects on my needles (I’m getting a head start on my Use Every Scrap Socks so that I can take photos for you all!) so I’m not working as consistently on this big shawl as I was at the start of the month, but the lure of colouring in a new section of my encouragement grid has been working. Even if I only do a quarter of one round it’s forward progress, right?!

I’ve awarded myself some stickers, and coloured in quite a few rounds over the last few weeks!

Hurrah for keeping going on a really BIG project. I’m really pleased with this, and I hope that if you are working on a large project (knitting or something else) that you are cheering yourself along in whatever way works best for you. I regularly have to remind myself, but it’s so important to be kind to ourselves. Encouragement is so much more effective than chastising.

The beautiful yarn I’m using is a luxurious laceweight from Old Maiden Aunt. Lilith created the colourway back in 2010 especially for my pattern (she’s amazing!). The link I’ve given there is for her current laceweight yarns. If you scroll down you’ll find some beautiful options in stock, and she suggests emailing if you are looking for something that isn’t in stock.

Just in case you are wondering why I didn’t wind all the yarn for the project when I first cast on… Yarn in a twisted skein is generally relaxed and not under any tension. It needs to be in a skein in order to be dyed, but you can’t knit straight from the skein (OK, so you can… but it’s a bad idea and will likely result in a huge pile of yarn barf!). You need to wind the skein into a ball in order to knit without tangles. But once the yarn is wound into a ball it’s under more tension and the yarn can stretch. In particularly severe circumstances the yarn can be stretched so much that it messes with your gauge. This can mean that when you wash your perfectly fitting project, the yarn relaxes back to its unstretched self, and the item is suddenly significantly smaller. So only wind the yarn you need – particularly in a project that might be on your needles for a while. Ahem. I cast on this shawl in 2010.

Are you working on any larger projects? How are they going for you? Do let us know in the comments. And if you’re reading along by email, you’ll need to click the read in browser link below.

Happy knitting!