Carnival Garter Cowl

This is a revisit of the Falling Leaves Cowl, just with size US 10.5 needles instead of 11s, and 24 stitches instead of 30.

The Falling Leaves Cowl was too tall, and probably too long, but I didn't measure it before I gave it away, so I'm going to have to guess.

The fabric on the 10.5s is much more satisfying, generally thicker. And between the smaller needles and less stitches, the height seems to be much better.

Buttonhole row: *k3, yo, k2tog* x3, k9

The recipient of the Falling Leaves Cowl wears it closed with only one of the three buttons, open over the shoulder. It's a good look.

So, I decided to try and make that look happen.... but more on purpose.

I also decided to add fringe. Boy, but fringe is a pain in the butt.

I just got a bunch of knitting books out of the library that I'm purusing, and it seems like there's a way to make fringe by knitting and unraveling instead of attaching each strand by hand. Or you can make a more robust fringe through a combination of casting off and casting back on. I will be investigating both!

Once I got all the fringe on, though, I did like the uneven, organic look of attaching it with a crochet hook, so this is one for thought.

I promised this cowl to a friend for his birthday. I hope he likes it. If he doesn't (it does have fringe after all, but I think he can pull it off), I gave him permission to give it to his wife.

Size US 10.5 needles, Loops & Threads Country Loom in colorway Carnival. 24 stitches. Finished measurements of body, 19.5 inches long, 9 inches tall, plus approximately 3.5 inches of fringe.

Addition by Subtraction KAL - Prologue

Using two stash yarns. Better than none. Frogged a baby sweater I barely started years ago for the variegated fingering yarn. Holding Madeline Tosh lace weight yarn doubled because I like the color, and it had been languishing for years, because hell if I am knitting simmering with lace weight.

The lys is ding a knit along but I don't think I'm going to be able to make the meetings so I jumped right in.

Color A (Errata): madelinetosh BFL Sock, colorway Blood Runs Cold (red)

Color B (Rip): madelinetosh Lace held doubled, colorway Candlewick (amber)

Color C (Dee Kay): Hedgehog Fibres Sick Yarn, colorway Eel (blue and green)

Color D (Garter): Cascade Yarn Heritage Paints, colorway Fall Foliage (oranges)

Realized it's going to be a very primary shawl... Hopefully it turns out more cohesive than I'm expecting...

Loot

Shouldn't have, but went to the LYS today.

Got blocking wires, because I have a UFO amidst done that would benefit from them

Got a pattern, Addition by Subtraction by TryStitchual Designs, two skeins of yarn (to go with the pattern),  and a Noro magazine, because it had patterns I couldn't resist.

Will be going back. They said they could order Addi Clicks for me!

Happy Homes

I recently visited family and gifted my aunt one of the skeins I picked up at the Harvard Alpaca Ranch, plus one of my handspun skeins, Desert Dusk.

She was thrilled.

She crafted it into a trivet, and I think it was a great use of the limited yardage.

Check out her Ravelry page, username Sahlah.

Visitors

Some bead loot, and new earrings made last night for visiting relatives.

My technique needs some refining, but it's coming along!

Alpaca Clara Cowl

Alpaca Clara Cowl, circa November 2014.

That one took a long time to dig out and finish.

It's actually been almost finished for about a year.

I followed the pattern, knit as written, except I stalled out at three repeats of the braid instead of four because I was trying to figure out if it was long enough.

I pulled it out last week and decided that it was, indeed, long enough.

Then came the 1x1 rib kitchener stitch that the pattern called for to finish it off. I've thought about it, and thought about it some more, and then chickened out and did a three needle bind off. I think it's fine.

I'm a fan of three needle bind offs, personally, and I'm the one wearing it, so there's that.

Now the yarn.

The color is beautiful, a pink raspberry. It's an acrylic brushed alpaca blend, soft, and, I'm hoping, durable. I bought three skeins and knit the cowl held double. I was afraid I would have to start pulling from both ends of the third skein to finish, but after the bind off, I had about a yard of the first two left.

Perfect, I say. Now I get to add the third to my stash!

I had trouble with this project, a little bit. Cabling so many stitches got me, but with some practice and ripping back, I got it. I could tell that one side looked more like a braid than the other, so I wouldn't call it fully reversible, but I'm happy with the finished project.

Would knit again.

Size US 13 needles, 2 balls Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Brush (220 yards) in colorway 9004 Raspberry, pattern Clara Cowl.

Right Side Three Needle Bind Off

Wrong Side Three Needle Bind Off

Sunny Weekend

A friend treated me to a magical visit to an alpaca farm this weekend. He had noticed a small sign on the way to the highway that I never had, and after driving down a small road for a short ways, there it was.

A beautiful green pasture leading to a lovely house and barn, and, better yet, alpacas!

15 males and females, freshly shorn, and kept separate for responsible breeding. That is Harvard Alpaca Ranch.

They have award winning alpacas, whose ribbons they proudly display. They send the fiber out to a mill. The turnaround on the fiber is loooong, but they're expecting some product to come back in July! Will have to check it out!

As it is, I was supportive and picked up two beautiful alpaca skeins (I think/hope those were local, too). Special projects brewing!

Sky Ride Handspun

I fought with my spinning wheel and spun a full small bobbin of this short stapled art batt a couple of years ago. I picked this wool up, another of the same variety in teal and black, and the wool I used for the Desert Dusk skein at a wool shop in Northampton that has since closed.

I still have some of the undyed wool from Desert Dusk, which I am excited to play with, as well as another variety that I had less success dyeing. I boiled half of that second batt whole, and while it took the color, it also kind of felted. I'll have to do a throwback on that at some point. Desert Dusk, I pulled into tufts when I dyed it.

Anyway, this batt came dyed. I sat down and tried to spin what was left of it, but the stale is really short, and I am not patient. It was a bit easier than I remembered it, probably because I have a bigger flyer, now.

We'll see if I try to spin it, or felt it into a scarf.

I got 48 yards out of 51 grams. I'm guessing that it's a thick and thin Aran weight. It's a little kinked up. Will probably keep and knit it myself.

Lily Pond Handspun

So many knots.

Had never spun from a batt before. Kept pulling it too thin, then it would snap, and hence the knots.

But it is not the worst yarn I gave spun, and the colors are oh-so-pretty.

This handspun, however, reinforced the need to let the twist set.

This project was a nightmare and a learning experience. I'm going to keep it for myself...!

Rag Hill Farm Art Batt, romney wool, silk, and merino, 1.6 oz, single ply, 50 yards.

Mulled Winter Wine

The Winter Wine cowl is a simple and satisfying knit. It's a little too simple for my taste, but it was nice having a project that flowed. I've been knitting a lot on bigger needles lately, so I had forgotten how much easier on my hands it is to use smaller needles.

The repeat is easy to remember, so once you have that down, you can just fly!

I named mine Mulled because of the color of the yarn. It's a deep mottled purple, with hints of yellow and blue. It's my favorite type of multi-colored yarn, no pooling.

I picked the yarn up on clearance at a local yarn shop in Long Island while on vacation. It had a cut in the skein so was marked down. Since I started this project last December (2016), I've lost the label, which is a shame, because I'd like to buy more of it. If anyone knows of a similar yarn, I would love to hear about it!

Like I said, the project is a little simple for me, so I lost interest about a quarter of the way through last year. I also lost interest in knitting in general for a while that year. I was working an unfulfilling job and commuting long distances, so just didn't have a lot of time for it.

But now I'm back at it!

This cowl was knit with my favorite Size US 6 needles, yarn unknown, worsted. Blocked dimensions, 32 inches by 6 inches.

Almost Morning "Collared" and Buttoned Cowl

I went to a sheep festival a few years ago. Which one, I couldn't tell you.

But I bought some stuff. Go figure, right?

The yarn for this, I bought on clearance, and it was a dream to work with.

Soft, bright purple, bulky.

The pattern... the pattern I had troubles with. I've since misplaced the copy of the pattern I purchased, so I can't tell you who it was from, except that it was called Collared and Buttoned Cowl.

The cowl body was very similar to other cowls I have made in the past. I bought it because I was intrigued by the collar.

I, however, must have done the collar wrong, because it did not lay flat, and pulled at the body of the cowl. So I ripped it out!

And then it languished, and languished, and languished some more!

But now I've revisited it. I've weaved in the ends, added buttons, and blocked it. Viola! Enjoy!

Size US 9 needles, Mad Color Fiber Arts Big Shot in colorway Almost Morning, 90 yards. Finished measurements, 27 inches by 6 inches.