WIP Friday #46

Happy Valentine’s Day! No matter what you think of the holiday I hope you have chocolate or plans to acquire chocolate later today.

I am now at the point where I have tons of ends to weave in. I’ve finished my Follow Your Arrow shawl. I just have to weave the last of the ends in and block. I know I should just grit my teeth and weave the last 5 ends in but I think I am going to let myself procrastinate for a bit. Recently I’ve been very good about weaving in ends immediately after finishing a project so I can afford to give myself a bit of slack. I am planning on getting some nice pictures after blocking. I’m not showing it now so it’ll be a big reveal when it’s all done.

I also powered through the cowl I was thinking of making on Wednesday. I still need to weave the ends in on this too. I decided I liked how the seaweed stitch looked so I ran with it. Sixty-six stitches on 5.5mm needles goes fast.

 

Even though the ends aren’t woven in I’ve worn this cowl around the house. I’m not sure that cowl is the proper name for this; it’s more of a soft, light, neck furnace. It weighs next to nothing but I swear it generates heat on its own. Perfect for a day like today when the rain is pounding and the wind is blowing.

What to start next

I’ve finished the knitting on my Follow Your Arrow Shawl so I am now in the enviable position of deciding what project to start next. I love starting something new and I have been barely resisting the handspun camel I purchased. However, I’m having a hard time finding a good fit for the yarn. I know I want to make a small cowl so I can wear it against my face. My first instinct was lace. I liked the look of this cowl for a while.

Anna Cowl by Barb Fritz

I started knitting it but the yarn is too thick and thin to show the lace, leaving me back at square one. Now I’m pouring through stitch dictionaries for something that can add interest to a cowl but still show up. Right now, my current favorite is the seaweed stitch pattern. With only 100m of yarn and a small project, I’m not swatching. By the time I’ve worked a repeat of the pattern I will know if it works or not. I don’t normally work with handspun so I’m at a bit of a loss with how to show it off to it’s best advantage. If this stitch pattern doesn’t work the cowl will be stockinette stitch. I know that will work.

100th post and a free pattern!

Today marks my 100th post. I’m really excited about reaching this milestone. To celebrate I wrote up a cowl pattern!

I made this cowl with my first skein of Wollmeise. It was a beautiful skein of the “Pure” 100% Merino Superwash. I wanted to make something that would use up the whole skein so I choose a simple stitch pattern, cast on a 257 stitches on my trusty 3.0mm needles and made myself a cowl! I used all 150 g or 575 yds (526m) of the yarn up to make a cowl that measures 10″ (25cm) high and 47″ (119.5cm) around. Perfect for wrapping around my neck twice or over my shoulders once.

Since I finished this project this cowl has been a go to item when I just need a little bit of warmth around my neck. Join in the celebration with your own special skein of yarn and download the pattern here.

 

WIP Friday #29

This week I have put the button-band on my Rocio Cardigan! Now I just need to weave in the ends, sew buttons on and block! If I’m good that will get done this weekend.

 

I also started a Bandana Cowl last night. I haven’t worked with bulky yarn in years and I almost finished it! There are only seven rows left. This bulky yarn knits up so much faster than the lace on my cardigan.

 

It even looks like I’ll have a considerable amount of yarn left over. I think I’ll try to make the Capucine hat out of the rest of the ball. I would definitely need a separate yarn for the tassels but I think I might be able to finish the body of the hat with the remnants. The one thing I’m not liking about this yarn is that it sheds. I am currently covered in white hairs. I’m hoping that after a wash that will settle down.

I want to start something but I don’t know what

I have this gorgeous bulky handspun yarn in my stash.

It is a wonderfully squishy blend of corridale wool, mohair and alpaca. It is so soft it deserves to be made into something that sits next to the skin. Annoyingly I don’t have more of it because by my estimation there is only about 200m of bulky yarn. I’ve decided it needs to be a hat or a cowl and these are my current favorite patterns to use.

On the hat front I’ve liked Capucine for a while. It looks wonderfully warm and cozy.

Capucine by Adela Illichmanova

This pattern, Through the Woods, caught my eye because of the combination of hat and cowl. I wouldn’t have enough of the handspun to complete it but I would use a contrasting yarn for the ribbing.

Through the Woods by Kalurah

Now on to my pure cowl idea, Bandana Cowl. The simple stockinette stitch would allow the thick and thin to really shine.

Bandana Cowl by Purl Soho

I’ve really been enjoying this pattern hunt. I don’t normally knit with bulky yarn and I get to see patterns I haven’t seen before. I think I know what will happen with the rest of my day.