Eyelet Cable Cardigan by Josh Bennett FO

Pattern: Eyelet Cable Cardigan by Josh Bennet Vogue Knitting Winter 2008/09

Yarn: Fisherman's Wool by Lion Brand

Colour:126 Lot:090401

Needles:7mm & 7.5mm Straights

Start: October 20 Finish: November 24, 2009

Modifications: (unfortunately) none

I am very proud this knit was done in just over a month - especially since there were issues encountered and with determination, overcome.

I am tickled that by using two skeins of the Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool I got on sale at Michael's, the cost of the sweater, including buttons and tax is about $25.00.

I'm shocked that changing to a rustic brown wool from the classic cream cashmere did yield a look that is quite pleasing.

I love, love, love the buttons!

I'm quite smug that at the last second I subbed in EZ's one row buttonholes for the "yarn over, knit two together" holes stipulated in the pattern and I got them to work the first time! (To be honest, the 5' long scarf "swatch" I knit that made working the eyelet cable effortless also yielded pretty significant smugness during knitting!)

I'm cozy as can be when wearing it. Wool is utterly magical at providing warmth isn't it?

I am bummed that now that its knit, assembled and blocked to the exact size I was aiming for - the one stipulated in the pattern - the large size of the sleeves is wrecking the fit across the back. See the hand fulls of excess material at either side of the sleeves across the back?

These sleeves perfectly demonstrate why I chose to make medium sleeves for a size large body when I made the Fair Isle Cardigan. As written the patterns yield sleeves that for my body are too big at the arm scythe, too wide all along the length and too long with huge sloppy cuffs. In the first shot below, modeled by Darling Daughter - the sleeves fit - in the second shot, the sweater is on me...the sleeves are huge....

Why, why, why oh WHY didn't I modify the size of the sleeves??? I just finished a sweater with modified sleeves that, as a result, fit perfectly - why did I then turn around, clearly forgetting or ignoring or just being blithely ignorant of that success and make unmodified and hence gigantic sleeves for this one?

I. Don't. Know.

I do know what I plan to do about it though. First I plan to re Soak the thing and then lay it out without pinning to see how narrow I can make it by taking advantage of the wool's tendency to shrink inward when wet and drying.

I guess I also have to be mature and try to learn from it. To my little data base of how to alter sizing through the bust and across the back, I'm going to add details on the fact that I need an arm scythe that is generally about 7" (this one was 8.5"). I'll also note maximum sleeve length and width.

I will also ask Darling Daughter if she'd like to wear it since its actually her size. Because she is very sweet and treats her mother very well she will thank me and tell me she'd love to wear it sometime and will definitely "keep it in mind" but that I should keep it in my closet and she will get it from there when she needs it. (Translation..."I love you but why do you knit such weird stuff? I would never wear something like that.")

I am a better knitter now than when I cast on for this sweater. That is more valuable than a great fit. (I'm going to keep saying that over and over to myself in the hopes that at some point I may come to believe it.)

On a more positive and frankly thilling note - I thought I'd share the contents of an email that was waiting for me when I got up this morning from My Beloved who's in Europe on business...

"Just got up. Heading out for breakfast and yarn.

I will call later today."

Is he a catch or what?

Thanks for dropping by!

Knitty Yarn Tasting

Last night I attended my third of these events and I would say it was my most coherent effort in terms of testing and rating the yarns up for consideration.

First of all, since my last two outings I've spent time swatching and just playing around with yarn. Considering properties and possibilities with full attention on doing just that. No frothing at the mouth, madly getting the swatching out of the way so I can cast on for some tantalizing new project. Just sitting, concentrating on nothing but swatching. So last night, having had some of this kind of experience, I was able to slip into that mindset as I worked with the yarn being tested.

Secondly, the group was a very serious, task oriented bunch. The Purple Purl was quite quiet considering it was filled with 30 odd knitters. So that aided in being able to focus on what I was doing.

Finally, I think the fact it was my third time going through the exercise meant I wasn't frantic keeping up with the process of choosing needles, casting on, knitting, trying NOT to talk about the yarn - much harder than you'd imagine - filling out the assessment form then every 20 minutes picking up hot beverage, coat, bag, swatch, both needles, form but NOT pen (they stay with the table)and moving to another while all 25 other knitters struggle among chairs and tables and each other to do the same.

The yarns we got to play with were...

Drops Silke Tweed - A nubby string like combination of silk and wool in what seemed to me to be fingering weight.

Tivoli - A mix of silk and mohair. The colourway we worked with made me think of Rapunzel spinning gold. Soft, smooth, rich. The sheen of the silk with a modest mohair halo. Very decadent! This was the only yarn of the evening I would be likely to ever buy.

Angel from Lorna's Laces (the variegated green centred in the swatch - see its fuzziness in relation to the others?)- Angora and Lambswool - soft and weightless - kind of surprising in that the colours were quite dramatic despite the demure texture of the yarn. Okay maybe I'd buy this one too!

Panguipulli from Araucania - In the skein it really looked like those "black magic" pictures we used to do in school where you coloured in a sheet of paper with crayons then painted over the whole sheet with black poster paint and then when it was dry, you scraped the paint away in a design of your choice to reveal the multiple colours beneath. Th effect was less noticeable once the yarn was knit up but still reminiscent to my eye at least.

Granite by Loop d Loop - This yarn is kind of like a puffy ribbon yarn in the skein but then the stitching or whatever it is that makes for the flat shape, acts like the spine of a book once you knit it, allowing the two distinct halves to fold over like a book closing. So the knitted result just looked like chunky yarn. My needles weren't big enough so maybe if I'd had the 9mm needles the yarn calls for and knit it carefully as you do with ribbon, it might have created a different effect.

There seemed to be lots of purchases made after the testing was done. Nice to see the gracious ladies of the Purple Purl get some business after being so wonderfully hospitable once again. Nothing came home in my bag though. I'm just not good with spur of the moment yarn decisions and I didn't plan to buy anything so empty handed I did leave.

BTW...If you're wondering what happened to my FO post on the Eyelet Cabled Cardi - its essentially done and ready to go (And I've been wearing and enjoying the warmth of the sweater itself this week) but I've been having trouble snagging a photographer in the these busy days as school terms wind down and My Beloved is off "across the pond" on another business jaunt. Hopefully tomorrow it'll go up!

Thanks for dropping by! And to all my American readers, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day yesterday and will have an enjoyable holiday weekend!

Blocking Board Deets

Well the buttons were bought and fastened onto the Eyelet Cabled Cardi, the soaking is done. Blocking is underway.

After my post about pinning the pieces of this knit out to better see and understand my pesky mistakes there were a couple of questions about the blocking board I was using. Its a board meant and generally sold for sewing - laying out and cutting/working with pattern pieces.

Its made of cardboard so pins go through it quite readily but then once there hold fast. Air flows all the way around blocking knits because of the board's paper construction. This cuts the drying time substantially - and I can't believe how fast things dry when you add a fan!

Because it folds up like an accordion it stores fairly easily but fully open its large size accommodates big or multiple pieces all at once.

I especially like the fact that once loaded up, it will lean against a wall without disturbing a well pinned garment - especially pinned with blocking wires! This frees up the floor for those picky non knitters who insist on needing to use floor space for walking and moving around a room. Sheesh!

The boards are available at sewing stores and I understand cost about the same as they did when I bought mine 20 years ago - $20.00 or so.

While I've always used the board for sewing I never thought to use it for blocking knits until last winter when I took a finishing course at a DKC winter workshop. I've used the tips and tricks Patrick Madden shared with us in that day long session many times since. The post about what I learned, if you're interested is here.

Thanks for dropping by today. 'Hope you have a good one!

Handoff in a Parking Lot

Not nearly as sketchy as it sounds and more exciting...the kind sales rep from Estelle Yarns offered to meet me on Saturday morning to trade the light brown colourway of Eco Super Alpaca I won at the October DKC meeting for my preferred shade of "anything grey".

In the end it is the lightest undyed shade (why does an undyed shade still have a "dye" lot designation?) of gorgeous soft grey they offer.

With knitting and assembly done on Eyelet Cardigan (I'll head out to pick up buttons today)last evening I indulged in a little "palette cleansing" by swatching the new yarn. My oh my its nice stuff! It's worthy of becoming something that isn't too fussy and so best shows off the cozy, natural warm loveliness of it.

It stands to reason yarn company patterns should first and foremost highlight yarn over design so for ideas on how to showcase this Alpaca I went to my little stack of Debbie Bliss Magazines.

In the Winter '09/10 issue there's a generous, straight cut cowl pullover. Its contrasting hems would accommodate the fact I'll need to supplement the prize yarn with another couple of skeins to have sufficient yardage for a big cozy sweater in my size.

The pattern calls for Donegal Luxury Tweed Chunky at 13 stitches over 4 inches on 6.5 mm needles in the mock rib pattern. The alpaca knit up to 16 on the recommended 6mm needles so with bigger needles and a bit of playing with the numbers I think it would work. If you're reading this and you're thinking "that won't work!" please, please, please comment and tell me so! Please!

So that's what I'm playing around with in my mind today while I do my thing as resident char woman chez Sel and Poivre. Its a big step down from the weekend excitement of meeting up with strangers in parking lots!

I hope you had an exciting weekend! Thanks for dropping by!

Well Look at That!

Assembly has begun! The fiddly work of setting in the sleeves is done...

Its just the straight line sides and underarm assembly to go. I should able to do that and work on the ribbed button band and collar tonight! By the start of next week I should be on to finishing Tangled Yoke (in the same year I started it!).

I'm fantasizing about a knitting basket in pre Christmas December with nothing but amusing little Christmas knits in it. Then between Christmas and New Years working the Merino Lace Socks I started back in July. That could lead to greeting the new year with no outstanding/neglected/ knitting commitments nagging at me and a world of potential new knit love interests waiting to be discovered!

Well look at that - 10 days still to go in November '09 - two sweaters and three Christmas gifts to complete and my brain is already busy knitting yet to be determined items in 2010! Ah the power of vicarious knitting - where stitches are never miscounted, ease is always calculated to perfection and the pattern directions "...at the same time..." are always noted and applied without ever having to rip back!

Thanks for dropping by - have a great weekend!

Negativity Bores Me

The "clouds" from my post yesterday have parted - feeling nasty just isn't entertaining! I've moved onwards, I feel like I made real progress - especially on that all important knitting front!

On other fronts we're trying to tie up more than a few loose ends from last spring's renovation work before taking our turn (once every three years) to host my in law's family Christmas Dinner December 20th.

There is painting to do but before that happens there's stuff to clear out so on the weekend we had a little photo shoot in the yard of things we're going to try to sell on line. (Interestingly much of the stuff we imagined was worth something was clearly only garbage once it was wiped off and out in the sunshine!)

There were naturally a couple of items that I had second thoughts about getting rid of at all - these are two of them...

They're dressed to illustrate the clothes my in-laws wore on their wedding day. As far as I know there are no photos of that event so I think its quite lovely that their finery was captured with needle and thread.

I've had this close up of their faces as my wallpaper all week and I feel like I've made a couple of new friends! Although their faces are clearly from identical blanks there's an undeniable sense of surprise in the way the bride's face has been painted with more of a smirk in his expression.

Aaaaand I can report following my purging rant in yesterday's post I had a successful night of knitting with no errors! The shaping is complete on the back of the brown cardigan so a few dozen rows of knitting straight is all that's left on that piece. Once that's done there's one sleeve to go and its on to assembly! I'm a bit worried the size is too large to give the eyelets a chance to shine via negative ease but I'm not turning back now.

I've taken to toting my Christmas gift knitting around the house to steal every possible moment of opportunity I can and that yielded a couple more inches of ribbed cuff yesterday so that's feels good too.

Tonight is the November DKC meeting which will be a great opportunity for Christmas sock knitting on the subway there and back as well as during the presentation. Its amazing how the state of the knitting can so affect the state of this knitter's mind!

Thanks for dropping by!

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?

-Laurence J. Peter

I am writing this from a cluttered desk in a cluttered house using a brain that "cluttered" doesn't begin to describe as I address preparation for "The Holidays". That special time of year when house - inside and out and waistline and home baked goodies and social events and hostess gifts and party wear and seasonal decorations ALL need to be attended to. (Thank goodness we can't control the weather because ideally, that should be "just so" as well!) Whatever the standards for the house and home in question, the point is moot because the whole season, however one chooses to embrace it, is just too much! (and the "season" seems, as of this year, to start at 12:01 a.m. Halloween night so it seems endless as well!)

Early in my domestic career this time of year was an intoxicating challenge. I loved scheming and working to make it as magical but as efficient as possible. I have long since managed that and feel lots of satisfaction in it but the sheer volume - literal and mental ...

...IS GETTING IN THE WAY OF KNITTING!

ITS EVEN GETTING IN THE WAY OF THINKING ABOUT KNITTING!

• The latest edition of the Twist Collective came out on Sunday and I was too distracted to focus on its contents.
• I have a wee list of Christmas knits I'd like to enjoy working on but during the day when the recipients are absent the house essentially "screams" at me for attention turning what should be fun knitting into something I need to get done and get past.
• I'm keen to begin scheming my projects for the new year but ditto issues for daytime gift knitting.
• I'd like to spend an hour at Romni doing a bit of research towards those early 2010 plans. I can't justify three or four otherwise productive domestic hours on such an indulgence.
• I want to get my hands on a copy of the new Interweave Holiday edition . I'm keen to tackle something (actually several somethings)from it but even if I manage to find a copy, focusing on it will no doubt be an issue.
• I'm trying to focus on my knitting in the evening to knit error free and get the two sweaters I'm so close to finishing done but this too is proving to be more of a challenge than the knitting really demands. I may leave my desk behind but my brain clutter stays with me whatever my location!

One thing's for sure - I just won't have it! (At least not for long!) I'm going to put my head down and get a bunch of stuff done and out of the way so I can banish the Holiday "clutter" to make way for much more entertaining variety- Knitting "clutter" - desk, brain, and all!

And if you're naturally wondering why I'd waste time blogging about having no time - 20 minutes at the keyboard and I've one less bit of "stuff" to carry around in my head! Thanks for dropping by and helping me straighten things out!

Squeeeeeeeee!

I've never won a contest on line and I've never had a knitting package arrive in the mail...until TODAY!

What a coincidence - that's exactly what I'm doing!

Cheryl you have no idea what a super bright spot you just put into my day - all the way from the other side of the continent no less!

(btw I've never had pretty stitch markers before either!)

Now I know what needles I'll be using for next October's Pink Breast Cancer Scarf but what can I knit that will put these beauties to best use asap!?!

Eye Candy!!!!!

Sweeeeet!

An hour in silent seclusion last night - well silent except for the large quantity of talking to myself - yielded matching tops for both fronts done and dusted in time to catch this week's episode of MI-5 on PBS at 10:00!

Next its the sleeves - I want a bit of easy knit gratification before I tackle deciphering the back! All the shaping on them is done outside of the eyelet cable section..."add one stitch both ends of every 8th row, eight times" kind of thing. Truth be told of course at one time I struggled with that kind of instruction. I got past that phase and hopefully with the learning I've gained on shaping the fronts of this knit, next time I run up against something similar I'll have a better time with it too.

There is something to be said for just sticking with it - I find the inclination to toss a troubled knit aside almost overwhelming (cough - Tangled Yoke - cough) but the more challenging knits I tackle the more I see how much more quickly and relatively easily I find a resolution than when I leave something aside for weeks, months or years ('been there, done that!)

So lesson learned, problem sorted! Thanks for all the moral support throughout my little struggle this week! Have a great weekend!

I'd Settle for "Incorrect" If I Can Get "Matching"

After two evenings of struggle, with no resolution in sight I've ripped both fronts to the same point - where shaping for the collar begins - and put them both on one needle...

I'll work the two halves as mirror images of each other. I don't know if I'll ever get it right but I'm confident(ish) I can make it look like it is.

Hopefully I'm at least learning something!

Wish me luck! (If it works you'll be the first to know!)

This Post Highlights Errors. Some Knitters May Find This Boring. Reader Discretion is Advised.

I've been working and reworking the top sections of the two front panels and spending too much knitting time each day trying to figure out where I am on the back relative to the chart. The knitted pieces are quite curly, hard to keep flat and so almost impossible to really see clearly. I finally decided to stop being so lazy and get out the stuff to pin them out and see if that helped matters any.

It certainly did make things clearer. On the fronts, the issue is not with the cables...

...the problem is with the holes or eyelets around the cables...

(I used the flash to highlight the holes) Interestingly the first error I saw wasn't on the left - the side I've yet to finish, but in the one on the right - the one that I've already cast off. Lovely! Can you see it? Its on the right, beside where the collar decreases start. Here's a closer look - its a yarn over that headed west instead of east around its neighbouring cable...

Eyelets on the right - curling around the cable towards the left. First two eyelets on the left, are behaving but eyelet number three has other ideas. One lousy misplaced YO ruins the symmetry of the side, prevents both sides from matching and pulls on and so minimizes the eyelet above it.

Moving on up both sections - more errors in what I thought was the side already completed and correct...

See where the pink plastic darning needle is pointing? Those eyelets are taking up real estate intended only for nice sturdy knit stitches so that the collar can be attached. Again - the left side turns out to be correct. See the difference?

As for the back, my lunch break's over...I can't spend any more time on it now! Maybe while dinner cooks I'll grab a few minutes to look at it again.

For those who made it all the way through this post - thanks for hanging in there!

P.S. And a big thank you so much to Barb who left the comment about Cascade 220 colours running! I had no idea! Icy cold, vinegar laden water it will be - as soon as I finish with sock number one and before I start into a second potentially pink and red men's ski sock!

So What Else is New?

Blathering last week about My Beloved's LYS adventures and the week before about the Fair Isle steeking and completion it feels like ages since I've posted about actual "in progress" knitting.

I've been stealing moments when I'm out and about to work on this...

Yet another pattern from from Interweave Knits "Favorite Socks", the Eesti Trail Hiking Socks. I'm making them for My Beloved as ski socks and plan to give them to him for Christmas. The yarn is Cascade 220 and I am unspeakably thrilled with the red and white colour scheme which is quite a departure from the Oatmeal and soft Rust colours shown in the book.

I'm saving the socks for knitting on the road as the Eyelet Lace Cardigan isn't ideal for travelling. Its not even really ideal for knitting with distractions. The shaping eats into the sides of the pattern so that beyond a certain point you can't just blindly follow the chart because you don't have enough stitches any more for a complete line of the chart.

The back of the sweater features three vertical eyelet cables. The centre cable starts on row 15 of the chart, the two side cables on row 1. Hence on each row of knitting you alternate between the two different lines of the same chart. I tried to tote that around with me one day and the sticky notes I was using to keep track of where I was fell off. I thought I had sorted out where I was, put the stickies back in place and worked on it for an evening only discovering in the morning I'd placed them incorrectly. I ripped it back and now I'm faced with again figuring out where I am on the chart for each cable. All squished together on the needle this proved impossible so now its off the needles and on a length of yarn ready to be deciphered again. Argh!

I'm going to take some time today while the house is quiet to do that. Tonight I think I might go to a local Knit Night. If I do I'll take along the Eesti Socks. Not only am I keen to see how they look competed in my colour scheme, I'd like to knit a little Christmas something for each of the kids so I need to get the socks to the FO list and get going on those projects.

Over the weekend I put the fruit for my Christmas Cakes into their week long cognac and honey bath. Beautiful weather outside notwithstanding, the Holiday Season is bearing down quickly. Eeeek!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Getting Ready to Remember

The folks at Fort Hood, Texas are in my thoughts this morning and of course I'm especially conscience of the sacrifices of all service men and women and their families this month.

So I thought I'd re post the link to this pattern for anyone who is interested. I knit the one above last year. Its very quick to make and of course, important to wear at this time of year. Why not take a few minutes this weekend and a few yards of red and black remnant yarn and knit up something that will remind anyone who sees it on your lapel to Remember the Sacrifices so many have made and continue to make for all of us!

He's Home. He's Safe...

...and here's the yarn!

Pink and Purple,

...more "fleck filled" than "heathered" per se but... "Nice Lady" said it was "local"* and its obviously hand dyed and there's 464 yards of it! Is that enough for knee highs?

*The term "local" is probably a relative one - when I tried to add the yarn (its the Fidelio colourway)to my stash list on Ravelry I discovered that its from a company in Missouri, USA which is only about 2700 kms or so from the store where My Beloved bought it. ("Local" must be a relative term!)

In his defence of "Nice Lady"...

• My Beloved felt she was perhaps a bit stressed rather than fully irritated serving a male, non knitter while participating in a hands free. long distance cell phone "conference call".
• He believes that if she is a blogger she may well have also posted about his rather unconventional "visit" to her store.
• He says after our call ended she tried hard to sell him a full set of Chrome Knit Picks Options complete with travelling case. ("Selling"? No probably just as I suspected - she was contemplating sticking one through his neck!)
• While she couldn't offer him a single option in yarn for a man's sweater, they did spend a few moments together flipping through pattern books looking for a man's sweater he might like. He did mention he liked one they flipped past called a "Barn Sweater". She agreed that yes, that was a nice one but it wouldn't suit him. When they couldn't find anything in the pattern books she thought he could wear, she tucked a sweater pattern into the bag that she thought he would look good in. He thought that bit of added attention to be a true demonstration of just how really "Nice" a "Lady" she was.

FYI the pattern is for a woman's sweater.

'Nuff said!

Comprehending a Real Threat

No, NOT H1N1...

...My Beloved is away on Business in the Maritimes . Mid day yesterday the phone rang...

"Hello?"

"Hi! I'm going to a yarn store."

"You're what? Where?"

"Near my hotel - I have a few minutes to spare, 'thought I'd see if there was some local yarn I could get so you could make me a sweater. What kind should I look for and how much will I need?" (See why I call him "Beloved"?!)

"About 1600 yards of Worsted Weight, 2000 yards of sport or DK weight."

"Okay, I'll let you know what I find."

"Bye bye!"

I hung up, walked 20 paces and the phone rang again...

"Hello?"

"I'm in the yarn store."

"Did you transport yourself there a la Star Trek?"

"It was closer to the hotel than I realized. Now behave yourself " he warns, "I'm using hands free while this Nice Lady helps me shop!" He's too jovial, I can only assume he's trying to win her over.

Its not working. Through the phone and across a time zone the irritation coursing through the "Nice Lady's" body is palpable as my out of towner with a Blackberry connection to his wife "shops" for yarn in what, before his arrival was probably her nice quiet and peaceful LYS...

His tone of voice is broad and generous and I can tell he's smiling.

"I'm looking at pink with purple stripes, orange, brown and green stripes..."

"They're heathered stripes" the "Nice" (and clearly irritated) "Lady" snarls in the background.

"Oh, yeah, they are heathered" he says.

He has noooo idea what "heathered" means.

"There's also yellow, gold and white heathered stripes..."

At this I'm sure he's smiling his most charming smile, looking right into "Nice Lady's" eyes which have now probably narrowed to slits. "Which one do you think would be best?" he asks.

Because I'm "behaving" I don't screech

"Pink and purple stripes? Heathered or not - are you nuts?"

And because, unlike him in his yarny innocence, I know he's blundered into that most dreaded species of "Nice Ladies" the Crabby LYS owner! Not wanting to further enrage the beast only I recognize is before him, I calmly and evenly say..."Well its up to you but frankly I'm surprised you're considering a striped sweater."

"Oh no" he says, "I'm looking at sock yarn!"

(I can only imagine what Nice Lady's face - and pulse - is doing at this point...)

Oh, oh, oh okay, get the purple! I blurt. (Instantly I regret this decision but fear "Nice Lady" might put an Addi Turbo through My Beloved's throat if I change my mind so I keep quiet.)

"Now what about a sweater for me?" He booms.

"We don't have any yarn for men." "Nice Lady" spits.

"What about this cashmere?" He booms (louder).

Its $22.00 a skein. she snarls

"So? I'm worth it!" He laughs. I imagine she's put herself between my man and her cashmere display.

"The sweater is going to cost $800.00" I chirp, hoping to put the idea quickly to rest in his mind.

"What???Are you serious?"

"No but it will be well over $200.00."

(Step away from her cashmere I silently pray.)

"Oh, okay forget that" he says. "What about this?"

I assume he's waving some huge floppy skein of something or other around at arms length.

"You can't make a sweater with that." Nice Lady hisses.

"Just get the sock yarn!" I plead - I want him out of there, out of harm's way!

"Okay" he says. "I'll talk to you later!" and hangs up, oblivious to the real and present threat he's facing.

I hung up, leaving him to pay for the pink and purple heathered beauty, hoping he would be alright. He's a big and if I don't say so myself, a very charming man - especially with women - but as we all know, you just don't mess with crabby yarn shop keepers!

I didn't hear from him again, I hope he made it back out onto the street okay. Even if I tell him, he'll probably never know the kind of danger he was in.

I can't wait to see what he comes home with but however it looks, I'll just be glad he's home safe and sound!

Manos Cowl FO

Pattern: Slip Stitch 1x1 Ribbed Cowl

Yarn: 1 Skein Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica

Colour: 114

Needles: 10 mm circular

Start: October 24 Finish October 31, 2009

Dimensions: 100 stitches over 39 rounds 7"w x 34" around

The story of this cowl is really about the yarn. I so adore it!

I love the sometimes fuzzy, sometimes shiny, thick and thin variance of it across so many wonderful colours. I wanted to do something with it that would just say "hey - look how great this yarn is!" Stockinette seemed to be the best way to do that but I also wanted chunky, huge stitches and the biggest needles I had were 10 mm. So I decided to slip the knit stitches in a 1x1 rib pattern for two rows out of three. Perfect!

I used the Old Norwegian cast on I learned this summer - look at the lovely edge it creates!

Then I just knit until I'd used up close to all the yarn - 39 rounds of 100 stitches. (I wanted to keep a wee bit to trim something yet to be determined in the future - I told you - I adore it!)

Here it is being very "cowl" ish and drapey...

Here it is doubled - probably the way I'll most often wear it...

Look at that jumble of big fat woolly-delicious stitches...

With such short hair, my neck is always exposed to the chill but this piece will keep me warm as can be...

Now where will I use my teeny little remnant?...

For today, this shot will be my day dream inducing computer wallpaper!

Thanks for dropping by!