Hi guys! If you remember, a while back I mentioned I was doing a test knit, and the pattern is finally being released! It’s called the Linto Creek Cowl by Andrea Hilton, who writes a fantastic blog called This Knitted Life. She’s got several other gorgeous patterns, so be sure to check out all her patterns on Ravelry. And now, without further ado, here’s my Linto Creek Cowl:
Here’s the project page on Ravelry if you want technical details.
Boy, this one went fast! I started it last night while I watched TV and was able to finish it today on my lunch break. I quite like it.
It’s thick and cozy, and the Rasta is so soft.
I had to try it on, but it’s so warm I could just keep it on for a minute.
Pattern is Insta Cowl, yarn is Malabrigo Rasta. Now I’m off to wind yarn for my next project!
Last weekend I cast on a couple of new projects. One of them was with my treasured Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Bulky.
I wanted something simple to show off the yarn, something quick and easy that would be a good travel project for my lunchtime knitting at work. I chose The Simplest Cowl, all stockinette, cast on, and took it to work with me last week.
It was definitely fast; I finished in just a couple of lunch breaks. But I didn’t like it. It was too wide and too short. I frogged and started over with 75 stitches, but then the yarn pooled (not sure if that’s the right word) in a weird way. The colors stacked instead of being more random. Frogged again and started with 85? 87? I’m not sure. Again, it went quickly and yesterday I finished it and bound off during lunch, and happily put it on.
It was still too short. It curled so much that the curls were all you saw when I was wearing it. My one skein just didn’t go far enough to make the look I wanted from that pattern. Now, if it were any other yarn, I probably would have tossed it aside, listed it on Etsy and forgotten about it. But I love this yarn, plus it was a gift from my mom. It had to be something I loved, something I would wear. I frogged one more time and rewound it. I went through the cowls on Ravelry that others had made with this yarn, and found one that looked quite delightful called Squishy Soft Cowl. I found the right needles, double-checked the pattern, and headed out with the girl to see The Secret Life of Pets. This would be my first foray into movie theater knitting.
And it went quite well, I must say! I got a good chunk done before the movie even started and was able to keep track of the simple pattern while still paying attention to the movie. It probably helped that the movie was a little silly and I didn’t have to work at all to keep up. I’m not sure I could knit that well during a movie aimed at actual grownups. Anyway, I got through 3/4 of the yarn and finished it last night and THIS TIME I’m happy with the end result.
I chose the smallest version so it would be snug and tall, and it came out exactly right.
Do you want to see my other current project too? It’s the Reyna shawl with my new blue/green Araucania Huasco. I think I love this as much as I love my rainbow. It seems to be such a good match of yarn and pattern, and the pattern is so fun. It’s just sections of garter and mesh alternated so that you never get tired of either one.
I’m using my new Addi Turbo Lace needles and really like them. They’re lightweight, super smooth, and I love the pointy tips. I’ll be adding more of these to my wish list. I have about 40 rows left and then it’ll be done. But this isn’t a good lunch break project, so I’ll be casting on something new today to take to work this week. Maybe a hat this time!
Something else fun: I keep finding more knitters at work. The lab manager knits, and brought in a shawl she’s working on so I could help her with it. And we decided her 8yo daughter needed to learn to knit, so I brought in some 10″ size 11 needles and a skein of bulky acrylic in a pretty teal for her to try. Anything to create new knitters, right? The needles were metal ones I’d found secondhand for cheap, so I didn’t mind passing them on. As we sat in the break room knitting, we discovered another knitter as well as a crocheter. Just wait, I’ll bring all these yarn people together and create a big yarny community over there! *rubs hands together evilly* Bwahahaha!
That shawl isn’t getting done this weekend. I mean, at the time, it was very plausible because nothing else was happening this weekend. But THEN, on Friday, I got a call requesting an interview!! Hooray! It’s for a really cool company, so I’m pretty excited. Anyway, that meant that today I needed to go shopping for an awesome new outfit, and then tomorrow I have a hair appointment, and there’s just not enough time to finish a shawl, no matter how small it is.
Plus, this happened: 
I went to my LYS on Friday to get the contrast color for that shawl, and I did find a lovely teal, but on my way to pay, I noticed a whole table full of Madelintosh. Seriously, a whole table covered in gorgeous MadTosh browns and greens and blues. And this one came home with me and I had to cast on that night and now I have a new cowl, the Seaglass Cowl.
This is a better representation of the color, so you can see why I couldn’t resist. This is their A.S.A.P. super bulky yarn and it might be my new favorite yarn ever.
I used Jen Geigley’s Feedback pattern but modified it a bit. I didn’t have 16″ size 17 needles, so I tried 15s and cast on more stitches. I started with 50 but that was too small, so I settled on 60. It’s not as tall as the Feedback but I’m more than happy with it.
The real question now is whether I’ll keep it, or put it in the gift pile? Hmmm….
It has been a productive week for me. Let me try to catch up by sharing a finished object from a few days ago: the purple Kerr Diamond Cowl. I started it in early April, after getting both the yarn and pattern from Show Me Yarn at the Knitting in the Heartland event. (So amazing. I had SUCH a good time. Shighhhhh…) Then it got pushed aside for other things until finally I realized my WIPs were at an uncomfortable amount and I needed to start finishing some stuff. Ergo, the complete cowl!
The yarn is amazing, soft without being limp, not splitty at all, and rich colors. It really was a perfect combination of yarn and stitch pattern. I think the whole thing is gorgeous.
Here’s the back, where I grafted the two ends together.
The ribbing at the back of the neck really is a genius feature, decreasing the bulk nicely.
Now, I have to add a couple of caveats: this was not my favorite thing to knit. The pattern is well-written, easy to follow and simple enough for advanced beginning knitters who maybe want to try a couple of new skills like grafting. It’s well-matched to the yarn.
But it just didn’t match my personal knitting preferences. I had already made a bag, two hats, and two scarves with the butterfly/diamond stitch, and it’s a bit fiddly to knit, and I was just over that stitch. Also, I prefer to knit cowls in the round; I just adore knitting in the round. And finally, Kitchener Stitch is evil/amazing/horrible/awesome. I mean, it looks so good when it’s done but man, is it stressful. I go to knitting to get away from stress, not add to it.
Still, the pattern has a lot of great qualities and like I said, I love the finished object. So yeah, it was totally worth it. Just don’t ask me to knit that stitch again anytime soon!!
Pattern: Kerr Diamond Cowl by Kris Carlson.
Yarn: Show Me Yarn Cyclone in color All Dressed Up.
Ravelry notes here.
We survived another school year; I’m now the mom of a junior and an eighth-grader. After a celebratory lunch at Steak n Shake, where I successfully resisted the call of a milkshake, I managed to find some knitting time. I took a break from the mermaid blanket and picked up a WIP that had been neglected for six weeks. I’d done the easy part, the ribbing, but was waiting for the right time to start the more complicated pattern. Once I got going, I realized it wasn’t that complicated after all! It’s called the Kerr Diamond Cowl but I’ve done the stitch before as a Butterfly stitch. 
After the first time through the repeat, it’s been smooth sailing. It’s working up nicely and is a lovely way to show off the yarn. But no matter how hard I try to keep the yarn loose, it still puckers up, which is what I noticed the last few times I used the butterfly stitch. It’s just heavily textured, and I’m okay with that. Gives it more visual interest. The yarn is Show Me Yarn’s Cyclone in the All Dressed Up colorway, and it’s marvelous to knit with.
It was a nice knitting break, but now I feel I must return to the mermaid blanket.
The pink yarn project was a bust. I got to the end on Saturday, and it just wasn’t long enough to wear like I wanted. I frogged, and I wasn’t sad because I adore the yarn and loved knitting with it. I found another pattern, and before we left for the girl’s recital yesterday, I grabbed the needles I needed. Unfortunately, within four rows I realized I didn’t like the fabric. It was too loose. I have an image in my head of what I want this scarf to be, and I just can’t find the pattern that fits that image. SO, I guess I’m going to try to figure it out myself. I want it to be a horizontal scarf with tapered ends but I don’t know how many stitches to cast on. That means my first step is a swatch. ACK! I’m not a swatcher. I mean, I know how, and I would do it for something like a sweater, but I kind of hate it. Still, I love this yarn enough that I want the final product to be as close to perfect as possible. For pink cashmere, I will swatch!
I needed a break from that project before trying to design the pattern, though. I realized yesterday that I have very few solid color scarves/cowls in my hand knits, and since I wear a lot of striped/patterned shirts, I need more solids. Plus it’s getting warmer, so I need something cooler than dense wool. Again, I had an image in my head, but this time I got lucky in finding a pattern, and I finished my Lace Summer Cowl this morning.
Pattern is Summer Lattice Cowl and the yarn is SMC Select Juliette, a bulky pink cotton. I modified it to work in the round, rather than having to deal with seaming, so I cast on 120 stitches and just knit until I decided it was done. It’s exactly what I wanted, and now I just want to make myself ten more solid color cowls! But instead, I’m going to balance my knitting by working on some commissions for a bit. I started the Marcelle Wrap by Little Church Knits for my sister this weekend and so far the pattern is flying along. I can’t wait to get to the stripe section so I can add in the dark green.
Maybe I’ll get there today! For the first time in weeks, my entire day is empty, and I’ve got a yucky cold, so I’m going to plant myself on the couch and enjoy some binge-watching and knitting. Pretty sure I’ll have some furry friends keeping my company too.
Do you know that old song, Three Coins in the Fountain? For some reason I thought of that this morning, only my version would be Two Shoes in the Trashcan. (I really hope you sang that in your head.) Yes, Grace is feeling some serious spring fever or something, and has returned to shoe theft with a vengeance. She got one of mine yesterday (my fault: I left them downstairs, went to put them on, and only found one. The second? Outside in the backyard.) This morning the girl came down with a destroyed black flat. For the record, this is the THIRD black flat the dog has eaten, and this one was actually MINE. The girl and I wear the same size shoes and she loved these flats too and borrowed them often. She kept them under her bed, and it worked for quite a while. But apparently Grace figured it out. Oy. This dog. I’d let her run away but she’s chipped and they’d find us. (KIDDING. I wouldn’t really do that, as tempting as it is on some days.) Maybe she needs a new toy to distract her for a while.
Let’s move on to more fun stuff, shall we? After finishing the Hitchhiker, I needed a new project. Not content with just one, I decided to cast on two new projects yesterday. One is a shawl that’s been in my Ravelry queue for ages, the Citron. I saw one on Instagram the other day and it reminded me of it, and the grass green yarn I have is perfect for spring. It’s going pretty quickly so far. 
I’m using DK weight instead of lace, so it’s definitely going to be a full shawl rather than a shawlette. The yarn is Lachiwa by Mirasol Yarn, a 60/40 cotton linen blend. I think it will become a fabulous spring shawl. So far the pattern is fun, with just the right mix of plain stockinette and increase/decrease rows. I don’t think this one will take long to finish.
Second is the Kerr Diamond Cowl with some of my yarn from Knitting in the Heartland. The yarn is from Show Me Yarn, the booth that talked me into three skeins, and it’s the Cyclone base in a gorgeous purple called All Dressed Up. I got the pattern, which is a paid pattern, free with the purchase of the yarn. It was written specifically for this yarn; I don’t think I’ve ever made a pattern with the original yarn! I have to confess, I was a tiny bit disappointed when I opened the pattern and saw that it was knit flat and seamed. One of my favorite things about cowls is that I get to knit in the round. BUT. I love the look of the pattern, and it’s got a neat ribbed section that intrigues me, so I’m giving it a go. 
The turquoise is for the provisional cast on, not part of the finished piece. I guess it’s good I got to practice that. It’ll give me good practice on my Kitchener stitch too. I mean, it’s fine. I’m not afraid of it. I guess I’m just a lazy knitter who would rather knit in the round than seam things!
One more knitting thing: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee posted a blog entry about her time at Knitting in the Heartland, and at the top she included two photos of the audience at her keynote. Well, if you look at the first photo, in the second row on the left, right next to the wall, you’ll see me! I couldn’t figure out how to share her photo, and honestly I didn’t think it was a good idea anyway, so here’s a link to the post. There you have it, I made it to the Yarn Harlot’s blog.
And with that, I’m off to enjoy a second cup of tea, last night’s Grey’s Anatomy, some knitting, and a couple of puppies that aren’t really puppies anymore but will always be puppies. 
Happy Friday, friends!
This is the hole Grace made in the couch cushion. Last night we came home from a choir concert and found stuffing scattered across the couch. ARGH. We can’t afford a new couch at this point. Any suggestions on patching or sewing it closed? I have some bitter spray that I guess I need to apply more frequently. And I’m also considering our options for containing her while we’re gone. 
Here’s the current state of the Hitchhiker. I knit on it all day long I think, including at the concert, and it still seems rather short. I have 31 teeth. We’ll see how far I get with this skein. But this is my first Hitchhiker with fingering weight, and I think it will be my last. It takes FOREVER. This, my friends, is why I like worsted and bulky weight yarns!
Now let’s move on to happier things, shall we? Here’s the blocked Take the Crown Cowl. 
Yep, the pattern kind of gets lost when it’s worn, but I don’t care. I know it’s there, and I love the look regardless.
Finally, I have to share a story on why knitters are so fantastic: last week I got an email from a knitter who’d found one of my felted bags on Ravelry and then she found this blog, and she took the time to email me and tell me how much she liked them both. That’s always a boost, right? Well, then, she ordered the bag! That’s right, a knitter bought one of my knitted bags. How cool is that? When someone could have easily said, “Oh, I could make that myself” but instead thinks your piece is good enough to buy, well, I can’t tell you how good it made me feel. And when she got the bag, she emailed me again to tell me how much she loves it, and now we’ve got this lovely conversation going and I feel like I have a new friend. It’s a lovely reminder to me that compliments are free and easy to give, and often mean so much to the recipient. If you think something is beautiful, say it out loud!
I have two cowls to share today, one older and one brand-new. Let’s start with the older one. A while back, I used my one and only skein of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted to make a Boomerang Cowl (pattern by MollyGirl Yarn). Here’s my Berry Cowl unblocked. 
I finally got around to blocking it yesterday. I blocked it pretty aggressively for a few reasons: the bind-off was really loose and I wanted both edges to be the same, I wanted it to be wider, and most importantly: I wanted to show off the pattern. I like the results! 
I should be able to get a couple of wears out of it before it gets too warm. And now I need to do the same for my Take the Crown cowl, which I finished yesterday thanks to a few hours of outside knitting time.
The puppies kept me company, one by my side and one in the sun.
I decided to trust the pattern and finish it rather than frog it, and I think I made the right choice. 
Blocking should get it to a good width for a closer-fitting cowl. I found it fascinating to see how the colors pooled in the ribbing at the beginning (the bottom ribbing) but not at the end. This will be wonderful if I make it to any Royals night games this season!
The pattern, which is a zigzag, does get a bit lost in the yarn, but I like it because in my mind, it represents the points of a crown. And again, blocking should open it up nicely. Details: the yarn is Nerd Girl Yarns Clever in color Take the Crown and it was heavenly to knit with. Soft but not limp, not splitty at all, just flowed wonderfully over the needles. This pattern is River Deep, Mountain High by MollyGirl Yarn and this makes my fourth.
What about you? What are your go-to patterns, the ones you knit over and over?
bonnyknits 