Angora Cowl FO

Pattern: "Amalia Cowl" by TheKnitterInMimi FO

Source: Free Ravelry Download

Yarn: Cream - Orkney Angora St. Magnus DK
            Lavender - Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK

Needles: 3.75 mm 16" circular

Start: February 13 Finish: March 23, 2016

Modifications: None

A straightforward little pattern just high and wide enough to fit neatly into the collar of a coat. Ingenious how the bottom garter stitch edge, with its wider gauge than the stockinette above it, gives the fit some needed flare at the bottom allowing it to settle onto the shoulders a bit without ever changing the number of stitches.

Then the 2x2 rib at the top does an equally important job of preventing the stockinette from rolling over under the chin.

I hunted for a cowl pattern to "go" with these DROPS design mittens for quite a while.

When I saw the "X"'s and zig zags in this design I liked how they were similar to the ones featured on the back of the mittens without being a literal match.

What is a perfect match though is the appearance of the softer than soft marled lavender and cream with how the baby merino/silk/angora yarns feel agains the skin.

I think it's pretty and cozy in a perfectly "early spring"  kind of way and I love that its made using remnants and a free pattern.

Just one of those projects where everything comes together. Nice.

And nice of you to drop by today - thanks!

"Flying Geese" by Peg Blechman FO

Patttern: "Flying Geese" by Peg Blechman

Source: Ravelry - "Scarves etc. 5" by Quince and Co.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash

Source: Romni Wools, Toronto

Colour: #1926 "Doeskin Heather", #190A (Unnamed rosy-cream colour)

Needles: 5.5mm, 60 cm circular

Start: February 20 Finish: February 26, 2016

Modifications: None

All done,  blocked and ready to go. A straightforward little colour work project intended to slip over the head scarf of a mom soon arriving in Toronto after escaping from Syria with her husband and 5 sons.

So glad when buying yarn for this I managed to keep my own desire in check for a wooly, graphic version like the one in the pattern. I can't imagine what this woman will have endured prior to arriving here but I know she'll have better things to do than worry about hand washing a cowl as she settles into a whole new life with her family.

The Superwash 220 is soft and drapey post blocking - 'doesn't really even feel like wool compared to the yarns I've been working with in recent months.

Its not ideal for colour work. The yarn is lean and there's no bloom post blocking to fill in little gaps an irregularities. In the beautifully modelled shot below you can see how the small variances in the white lines that run between the "geese" really stand out as a result.

(Hudson's head is HUGE, as are his ears and his neck  - while it looks a bit narrow on him it is a comfortably generous size on a human head!)

('Probably doesn't help that being super wash I had to block it pretty aggressively to ensure it didn't shrink back from its pinned dimensions and stayed true to size.)

This yarn was supposed to match the original 220 in colour and gauge but Cascade has revised the description of the yarn to a "light weight worsted" because the Superwash version consistently knits up smaller than the original.

No wonder I had to use a 5.5mm needle rather than the 4.5mm that should have given me gauge.

I found out the other day the intended recipient and her family will be a couple of weeks later arriving than originally planned.

So with the extra time and remaining yarn I'm fiddling around making a pair of hand warmers with the leftover yarn.

I've got a lined one ready to block. Once its dry I'll see what its like and go from there.

(Right after I figure out how it somehow got to be March when it feels like Christmas was about 3 weeks ago!)

They Say Many Hands Make Light Work

 Well two hands knitting colour work in the round sure do!

Especially with the corrugated ribbing plus you get perfect tension on the floats without having to twist the yarn for colour changes.

There's the softest hint of shell pink in the lighter colour...

This pattern is "Flying Geese" by Peg Blechman and its intended for a Syrian woman who will arrive here in Toronto in coming days with her husband and five sons.

I thought these soft colours would suit the early spring season (that will still feature many cold days) while a deep, wide cowl  that can be pulled up over the head will accommodate a head scarf where a hat could be a bit tricky.

'Trying to put this one to bed today/tonight as I've got a deadline for its' delivery and tomorrow I've a bit of minor surgery scheduled. In my post anaesthesia/pain medicated fog over the weekend I want to indulge in knitting the rest of the hand spun yarn I picked up in Buenos Aries last October.

And guess what I found...a whole bunch of comments from recent weeks that for whatever reason stopped automatically moving from the comments section of Blogger to my email box.

What a treat to find them, and to be lucky enough to have readers who leave them.

Thanks for taking the time to comment and for dropping by today!

2 Fleece-like Improvised Cowl FO's

Pattern: 2 Improvised Men's Cowls

Yarn: Rowan Brushed Fleece (one ball per cowl)

Source: Eweknit Toronto

Colour: Peat

Needles: 6mm circular
Start: December 12 Finish: December 21, 2014

Before he left for London last Spring Number One Son grabbed a couple of basic black fleece cowls from the "just in case" collection at the bottom of our familial ski bag and took them to wear under a light jacket against the British chill.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you, how painful it is, to see a loved one wearing fleece where some wonderful knitted item could be doing the job so much better and more beautifully!

Nonetheless I knew making something he'd like as a substitute meant I'd best respect the fleece aesthetic and minimize knitterly flourishes. So I picked up a wonderful (new?) yarn called Brushed Fleece by Rowan.

I've likened this yarn to knitting with warm air. Soooo light and soft and once knitted up, soooo warm! I've many an idea floating around in my brain for future projects with this lovely stuff.

As you can clearly see just above, the yarn deadens the affect of knitted detail, without obscuring it with fuzziness - especially so in this darkest grey colour. Knitted flat, as the name implies, it handily conveys a look similar to polyester fleece. One ball yielded a stockinette tube 8" high.

I used a provisional cast on in case he favoured a double layer cowl planning to graft tube end to tube end but it was big enough to alternatively go over his head as knit should he prefer a single layer. I put the live stitches at the top on a string and had My Beloved try it on  to see how it fit before our traveller returned. The trick was though, I wrapped it up for My Beloved and put it under the tree with his name on it.

Next I wrapped a second ball of Brushed Fleece, labelling it for Number One Son and looked forward to Christmas morning with something for him to try on (Beloved's finished cowl) and hearing what he might want while My Beloved would be surprised at finding the first knit cowl was actually for him!

My Beloved wasn't the only one who got a surprise though. Number One Son surprised me with a request for Braided Cables on his cowl. He wanted them closely spaced all the way around and he'd like 1x1 ribbing top and bottom please.

I didn't explain the yarn wouldn't give him the crisp kind of cabled look I think he imagined. I've learned non knitters rarely care to hear such granular detail.

Instead I got to work seeing just what the yarn could handle. Tight, 6 stitch braids crossing every three rounds came out looking like weird puckers. Loose, widely spaced braids of the same size had the appearance of stubborn wrinkles. Between these extremes I found a nice middle ground. I knit the ball up using that approach, pirating a couple of rounds worth of yarn from the first cowl to make the ribbing symmetrical after working my little improvised chart 3 times.

He's very pleased with the result, as am I. Interesting to see, if you look at the first photo above, how much smaller the cabled cowl is than the stockinette version while taking a bit more yarn to complete.

And check out the finished ensemble of finger less "Charcoal" mitts and "Peat" cowl together! (Try to ignore the crazily short rolled pant legs - I'm told its part of the "look" in London - it'll probably be a while before it makes it across the Atlantic but when it does remember you saw it here first!)

Drop Stitch Cowl by Abi Gregorio FO

Pattern: "Drop Stitch Cowl" by Abi Gregorio

Source: Free Ravelry Download

Yarn: 3 skeins Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky

Colour: 1010 Red

Source: eweknit Toronto

Needles: 10mm Circular

Start and Finish: December 18, 2013

Modifications: Added 10 sts at cast on.

Darling Daughter spotted the pattern for this cowl as I was scrolling around Ravelry a few weeks before Christmas said she liked it. Such statements are rare so I instantly resolved to knit it for her in time for the 25th using the wondrous Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky I sourced at eweknit.

The big feature of the yarn and pattern is that its BIG. So the piece should appear big on the wearer right? A quick glance at the designer modelling her work on the pattern revealed something on the order of "Petite" whereas Darling Daughter measures in at nigh on 6 feet. So I increased the number of stitches cast on by 10 or about 20% to yield something suitably substantial and use up all but 8" of the three skeins I'd purchased of this beyond soft, Super Bulky Alpaca & Wool, roving-style yarn.

Once I got to it, it was only a couple of hours before I was weaving in the two short ends.  (I opted not to block it - leaving it as thick and lush as possible.)

Obviously this was a great winter for big cozy knits and the colour was very complimentary on her so it saw lots of wear, indoors and out.

Thanks Abi! You're a clever generous woman putting this great pattern up free of charge!

Oh my goodness I feel so blessed to have raised a family in Canada!

If you embrace them, even tough winters are fun!

(Especially if you've lots of hand knits to wear!)

Amerind Cowl by Sarah Wilson FO

An interesting, asymmetrical cable in an asymmetrical cowl designed specifically for this yarn and colourway. Interesting, that is, as long as you wear it in the slightly unconventional and more than a bit impractical "covering your head and face" approach pictured below...

Pattern: Amerind Cowl by Sarah Wilson

Source: Ravelry Download

Yarn: Zen Garden Serenity Worsted

Colour: Black Pearl

Source: Lettuce Knit Toronto (gift)

Needles: 4.5mm

Start: September 19 Finish: October 1, 2013

Modifications: None

Releasing your eyes from the captivity of the cowl structurally diminishes the impact of that interesting design.

Then, if  worn like, say, a cowl, its just a glorified turtleneck or as we used to call them in the bad old 70's a "dickey" collapsing onto itself thereby eradicating all view of the lovely pattern.

There's also a fancy, Figure 8 cast on that allows you to do a 3 needle bind off at the end, yielding a magnificently evident seam. But at least its easy to know what section to put at the back right?!

So if yesterday's FO was a "5 Stars" kind of thing this one gets more like a "2".

As for the yarn, it is, like many expensive, hand dyed, superwash yarns, squishy, round and hairless. In this instance, carefully and skillfully dyed to get the same colouration as the yarn from yesterday's FO that sheep and Mohair goats grew on their bodies by eating grass and standing around in the sun and wind.

Both Darling Daughter and My Beloved commented on the softness, loved the colour and felt it was great, wearable piece. (High praise from those two who rarely find anything other than polite interest in my knits.) To each his own - maybe its my deep Scottish heritage but I seem to just want to go for the rough, hairy, sticky, wooly wool!

And speaking of which - yesterday afternoon my package from The Shepherd and the Shearer arrived! (I may have squealed a bit as the mailman handed me the package.) Talk about "sticky wool"! Darling Daughter, off on a British adventure this week has my camera, but I took some pics with my tablet for posterity of the fully gleeful skein washing and drying that began moments after the mail truck pulled out of the driveway. That'll be the stuff of tomorrow's post!

Thanks for dropping by today!

'Cottage Cowl" FO

One last FO from the summer just past...

Pattern: Stacked Eyelet Cowl by Ami Madison

Yarn: Sirdar Chunky (Remnant)

Colour: Denim Blue SH502

Needles: 6.5mm 60 cm circular

Started and Finished July 1, 2013

When I started back knitting after a decade's hiatus, the first sweater I knit was in a reasonably priced chunky wool/cotton yarn by Sirdar and I ended up with one remnant ball.

The Sirdar sweater sees a lot of late August wear at the cottage when the weather can start to turn sharply cooler, but the cotton content keeps it comfortable against the skin as the wool content makes it warm. Still sometimes I wish I could just put on a scarf rather than a pullover but a scarf in August feels a little depressing.

Early one chilly morning this past June, hesitating to put on the sweater, 'worried about feeling too cool it struck me I should use the remnant yarn to make a cowl - get the benefits of the sweater when the sweater itself is too much.

So on Canada Day I did just that - rounds of eyelet framed top and bottom with garter, separated by 5 rounds of stocking stitch.

I love the way Stockinette rolls in on itself allowing the sturdier Eyelet and garter rounds to stack up vertically behind the neck. This piece saw a lot of wear and although I planned to leave it at the cottage, it came home with me where I continue to grab it on cool mornings. How satisfying to have a need and then be able to address it quickly and effectively.

Love It!

Thanks for dropping by!

"Ptarmigan Cowl" by Jared Flood

Pattern: "Ptarmigan" by Jared Flood

Source: Brooklyn Tweed Online Store

Yarn: Illimani Baby Silky Llama

Source: Lettuce Knit Toronto

Needles: 16" 4mm Addi Turbo circular

Start: April 7 Finish April 11, 2013

Modifications: None

(While the designer Jared calls this pattern "Ptarmigan", for me its just really "Nice!")

Nice Yarn!

Nice Pattern

Nice Big Charts!

'Nice Break between Sweater Projects

'Nice to Finish Something Quickly

'Nice Little Cowl for this Chilly Spring

Nice of you to drop by!

Knitter's Time

Yesterday I was all about finally getting into Kate Davie's "Deco" - my next sweater project but then last evening 'actually worked on something else.

Its another Jared Flood pattern,  "Ptarmigan", cast on right after Gaspard left the premises as I planned to work it and Deco concurrently. (Truth be told knitting the Deco swatch was actually jumping ahead of starting Ptarmigan.)

More than wanting to knit this lovely cowl, or wear it before next autumn I want to be seen knitting with the Illimani Silky Baby Lama. This yarn, among several other luxurious skeins, was given to me by Number One Son this past Christmas and I want to demonstrate my appreciation in terms to which he, a non knitter, can relate.

He has a typical "covet/need then purchase then use" mentality. One thing promptly following the next so the cycle can begin again. (Hence the descriptor "Consumer"; an ugly if apt description in my view, but I digress.)

Curiously Knitting Time (i.e. that sensation of the passage of time in the knitter's brain) seems free of this burden of speed in a way and quite distinct from non knitting activity -  little understood if even imaginable by non knitters.

"The Stash" is borne of this. Its not uncommon for knitting projects to take years to proceed from yarn or pattern purchase through the pairing process of the two through casting on and knitting to completion. Some knits even spend time in a blocking pile after the last stitch has been bound off.

"Deco" is, for me, such an undertaking - more on that some other time.

The Shepherd and Shearer Project is another. Non knitters listen incredulous when I speak of the premise wherein a knitter like me pays a lot then waits while
......sheep eat grass and grow fleece (non knitters think this is a joke!)
............designers on two continents imagine and express a design
.................Shearers shear
.........................A mill cleans and spins and skeins
..................................A "shop" ships
.............................................The mail carrier delivers
.........................................................A swatch is swatched
..................................................................(Slightly unrelated but nonetheless true) several seasons pass!

Until at last knitting on the sweater can begin and that is assuming the "queue" (aka current mood of the knitter) is ready and open to cast on that new project.

Non knitters don't understand this sometimes long search for perfect partnership between pattern, yarn and opportunity. Lets face it, some sweater projects "marinate" for longer than some Engagements last! So its no surprise non knitters need to see the connection between their yarn gift and completed knit in something closer to typical a typical retail cycle of time.

While recently working slavishly on Ranger under the direct oversight of its intended recipient, I sensed impatience tinged with disbelief at how long the thing was taking and it was the size of a small football field!

So bottom line on Ptarmigan I want to "speak" to non knitting Number One Son in the Buy-then-Use language he understands so I'm stitching on Ptarmigan to have something to show him by the weekend when he next comes home.

Deco will wait a wee bit longer - I know YOU all understand!

Thanks for dropping by!

Eyelet Cowl by Cathy Carron FO

Pattern: #11 Eyelet Cowl by Cathy Carron

Source: Vogue Knitting Holiday 2009

Yarn: 4 Balls Lang Silk Dream #0016

Needle:

Start:: May 11 Finish: May 27, 2012

Modifications: None

VK's featured photos of this pattern show a marled, tweedy kind of of yarn that adds a lot to the look of the finished piece. The use of this yarn makes for a more understated look.  We'll see how often I  reach for it this autumn/winter.

Its a straightforward eyelet tube in a luscious silk/wool blend yarn.  Drapy and soft on the skin yet with enough body built in through the design to stay up around the neck where it belongs.

Garter stitch borders top and bottom.

 I-cord through one row of eyelets to keep things snug around the neck

"Wimple-ready" too! (Does this pic remind anyone else of the "French Lieutenant's Woman" Movie Poster?)

Bought the yarn, on sale, on spec and its been sitting here for years without a purpose. (what is my problem with having a little yarn stash?) Honestly while I'm happy with the FO, I have to admit I'm thrilled to have the yarn used up.

Thanks for dropping by!

Purl Soho Cowl FO

Pattern: Bandana Cowl

Source: Purl Soho Blog

Yarn: 1 Skein Malabrigo Twist

Colour: Zinc lot 543

Source: Passionknit

Needle: 5.5mm circular

Start: December 5 Finish: December 11, 2011

Modifications: None

This knit's short row-induced structure yields a magical piece of neck wear - cozy but not bulky, staying put as effortlessly as the pattern notes promise.

I think the dingy lavender of this yarn well suited to the "cool" Soho aesthetic for which the pattern's named.

I gave this piece to my "coolest" friend ever. In my mind's eye she's always wearing a scarf.  After giving her the thing and re-checking online photos I see its long scarves she wears. Not cowls.

Oh well, "if the horse has bolted its too late the close the barn doors". Its been gifted and importantly I know she appreciated the gesture. I might make another one for someone who would wear and enjoy one - Me!

Bottom line; not so great matching of recipient with knit but great pattern and very satisfactory FO.

Tomorrow more catching up the blog with my knitting. 'Onward to a knit from last January/ February.

Thanks for dropping by!

What a Week!

• Monday in Passionknit at Toronto North Knitter's SnB I enjoyed looking at the walls of beautiful yarn. 
• Tuesday I worked up playful bright samples to inspire the children of my Learn to Knit class.
• Wednesday I attended the DKC and heard about creative inspiration.
• Thursday new furniture arrived, radically changing the use of our rec room. That evening, at the Interior Design Show we walked about displays set up to show the "new" and "different".
• On Friday a head cold the size of a freight train, took up residence in my sinus cavity, derailing my weekend as it pounds its way out through my face.

So many forces pressing me to reconsider my perspective. What's a knitter to do with inspiration a plenty but feeling so lousy I can't concentrate or focus?

Garter stitch a colourful bag of remnant Aran!

Mindless, quick, gratifying and entertaining as the colours work together (or don't). The eye perceives each colour on its own in one way but then in the overall context often reads it quite differently.

Up close as I knit its just a string of colours.

Toss it aside when the headache forces me to close my eyes and when I reach for it a couple of feet away on the coffee table its reminiscent of the watery colours of Monet's "Water Lillies".

Returning from fetching another box of tissues or more Zinc Lozenges I see the work from an even greater distance and discover what I thought were random colours to be forming discernable stripes.

On the "right" side the colours are bold and distinct.

On the "wrong" side, more muted, seeming to "melt" together and for some reason (maybe its the OTC cold remedy at play) it looks like there are more colours than are actully present.

I'm intrigued. I'm sick. I'm glad to have a new place to sit near the fire with something fun to do and of course I appreciate having made more room in the stash! I can only wonder whats in store next week?

Thanks for dropping by today!

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!