AKA
Ham(ster)and Jam (elderberry) (but, please, no Spam)
OR
Brave Sir Robin
OR
The Castle Aaaargh

A very fun MKAL!

Had to buy a Miss Babs yarn kit - bought Hamsters and Elderberries but also loved Naughty Zoot, Shrubbery, Women Who Throw Swords (Lady of the Lake), King Arthur and Killer Rabbit kits … would’ve bought more kits if I could have! Will not arrive on time but I can follow along.

Watched the movie on Netflix for free

Kit arrived 3/5/21 - just in time for clue 3

MC: Sand Dollars

Contrast Colours:
CC1 Fig
CC2 Shiso
CC3 Dark Fury
CC4 Sagrada
CC5 Wolfsbane
CC6 Plum

Starting late enabled me to be a bit more deliberate about colour placement b/c I could see what others had already done. I chose the colours so that there was good dark/light contrast for the clue 1 sections and then assigned each colour the appropriate number according to that placement. I kept to the colours as per the pattern after that except for the second part of Clue 5, where I used the darker colour for the non alternating fleur-de-lis sections on both sides. I also chose a colour other than the MC for the very last eyelet section

I used the extra yo method, placed on the purl row in the Silly Frenchman sections, to avoid the elongated stitch pulling too tight.

Modifications
In the second part of Clue 5, when joining the two parts, I used C6 instead of C2 b/c I thought I would like the darker colour more.

In order to try to avoid sewing a central hole closed, in the last (purl) row of The first part of Clue 5, I inserted a yo either side of the central stitch for both halves. The idea is to grab this extra yarn and incorporate it into working of the stitch diagonally opposite. This means that on the first row of joining, when you come to the first central SSK and k2tog, you actually do a sssk and a k3tog with the extra strand coming from those diagonally opposite extra yos. I think this kind of worked but it did require some adjusting of the length of different strands and the tension of some of those central stitches after I had finished. It might well have been less fiddly to just sew it closed in the end!

I wanted to preserve a bit of the texture from the different stitch patterns so I didn’t stretch it hard when blocking - just enough to open out and even up the stitches a little bit and ensure that the yos were displayed well in the lace parts. I am hoping that the pins around the edges don’t create an edge that is very scalloped - I think it will be ok, though. There was a little bit of discolouration of the water when I soaked it (with a splash of Soak) but not too much, and certainly doesn’t seem to be discolouration of the finished item. I had been a little bit worried b/c I know that intensely dyed yarn can sometimes cause discolouration of lighter colours, and some of these colours are certainly intense, but it doesn’t seem to have happened, thank goodness! Mind you, I didn’t leave it soaking for long. I made sure it was wet through when I put it in and then got the blocking mats etc ready and retrieved a lingerie bag for it to go in to spin, then I swished it a couple of times and got it out. I doubt it soaked for even 10 min. Two spin cycles in the machine worked a treat and it was very easy to block! I might try to somehow improve the projection forward of the large coconuts and the newts next time I block it

I used Kitchener stitch to finish off each side. It worked really well on the dark side, especially with some adjustments as I wove in the end. The other side, not so much! This is one occasion where I think the 3 needle bind off might have been a better choice. I also had the idea that maybe that really simple bind off (??? German) where you just slip each stitch over the top of the adjacent one, alternating from each needle in this case, might have given a good result.