Tag Archive | cowls

Meet My New Baby

That’s what I’m calling it anyway, since it took nine months to make. This is the first project I’ve made with the silk yarn the husband brought home from his trip to India. Remember that marvelous pile of handspun, handpainted yarns I blogged about last summer? I started this cowl back then and for some reason I found it slow and boring and set it aside for nine months. Then Saturday I finished the chair socks (all 32 of them, with 4 tails each) and yesterday I finished the sister’s bag. (I KNOW!! I’M EXCITED TOO! I’m giving it to her tonight so I’ll show you tomorrow.) I’ve known for a while that my next priority would be WIPs. I don’t like having so many lingering projects. Aside from a cardigan that I don’t know if I’ll ever pick up again, this was my oldest WIP.

Once I picked it up, I had no idea why I set it aside. Well, that may not be completely true. The pattern called for size 9 16″ needles. At the time, I didn’t have my 16″ interchangeable circs, so the needle tips were full length, making them closer to 18″ than 16″ and making the knitting awkward. I immediately switched to the shorter tips and the needles flew. The yarn is glorious, as soft as you can imagine, with beautiful rainbow colors. It didn’t split or snag or knot; it flowed smoothly through my fingers and over the needles. It took three episodes of Gilmore Girls and two episodes of Supernatural and I was done! (Aside: have any of you watched both those shows? It’s strange seeing Dean from GG as Dean’s brother on Supernatural. Plus Supernatural is extremely freaky and weird and strange. I was not watching it, the girl was. She’s got strange taste.)

Anyway. Cowl is done. As soft as it is, the silk is a bit limp and floppy, so it lays strangely when I put it on. I might try pinning it close to the neck with a shawl pin or brooch. Still, it’s gorgeous. And when I see it I think of the husband, so that pleases me too. Here are the details: the free pattern is Malabrigo Neck Thingie and I made no modifications. The yarn is Duke Silk, 100% silk worsted weight from SilkIndian.

I am now down to only four WIPs, not including that cardigan. That feels good! Next up is finishing my delicious Chocolate Cherries shawlette. I’m really enjoying this phase of not thinking of knitting as a business. I’m not missing the craft shows or the pressure of making things for them. Instead I’m just making what I want to make, letting the yarns guide me, and it feels so much better. I don’t know if I’ll even want to make Christmas presents this year! Okay, okay, it’s not even June yet. I’ll keep an open mind. But I’m going to keep knitting for pleasure for as long as possible! If I don’t do many craft shows, though, what do I do with stuff I make that I won’t use? What do the rest of you do with all your knitted or crocheted goods?

Today it’s Two

Apr9

That’s right, I have two finished objects to present to you today! Thanks to my daughter, I finished knitting the honey cowl during flute lesson and cast off waiting for the band concert to start. Pattern is Madelinetosh’s brilliant Honey Cowl and I used MadTosh DK in Astrid Grey. Using one skein made a tall, cozy cowl, and I love it. Should be great for fall! I do apologize for the crap photo. I couldn’t find a good backdrop for the gray color (the grass was wet and I couldn’t bring myself to put the cowl on it). Yes, I know, the swing needs repainting. Sigh. Knitting is more fun. So, YAY, another WIP moves to the FO category and I’m down to only 4 WIPs. Feels good!

My other FO is a super super fast hat. It’s a special request and it was so fun because it combines both knitting AND crochet! Yes, both! How cool is that?? The body is crochet, and then you pick up stitches to do a ribbed knitted brim! Since it’s meant to be a summer hat, the body is all open and airy, which is why it went so fast. The pattern is the Combination Summer Hat and I used Knit Picks Brava Worsted but I want to do more of these in cotton. I might have a custom order coming in from Etsy, so I have a real reason to go to my LYS, and while I’m there I might just look at some cotton. Just look, mind you. Maybe touch.

So there you have it, two FOs in one post. I am a knitting fool, clearly. I have a craft show this Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday, so I need to do some shopping beforehand (presents, printable labels, change for the cash box). That means not as much time with my yarn, unless I’m really efficient.

Finally, today’s puppy photo. It does not include the puppies. It is more the aftermath of the puppies. Maybe I need to add a new curtain rod to my shopping list.

A Day with All the Knitting

Mar30

After a day with no knitting on Saturday, I had a day with all the knitting yesterday, and I finished TWO projects! Without further ado, I present to you the Hogan Infinity Scarf:I know, it looks like poo in this photo, but that’s the wonder of blocking! This morning it got a little bath in Eucalan and now it’s laid out to dry.I’m so glad this silly thing is done. After all the fuss trying to figure out yarn amounts and what colors to use, and then I had a mistake in the chevron pattern that I couldn’t find…ugh! The upside is that this was my first experience with Rowan yarn, and it was lovely. It feels strong yet still touchable, not splitty, and I think it’ll have good stitch definition. And I really do like these colors together. I’m glad I went ahead and used the white on the edges. My Ravelry notes are here, and I’ll post another photo when it’s done drying.

I finished the cowl during Harry Potter #5, and while we watched #6 I needed another project, so I finished up another long-tail baby hat. These are fun.Now I *could* start a new project, but I’ve been in the mood to clear through some of my WIPs, so I think I’ll pick up something I’ve been ignoring. But first I want to line my felted bag.Here’s the fabric I have. It’s not quite an exact match but I think it’s close enough. What do you think?

The Day of No Knitting

Mar29

I didn’t knit a stitch yesterday. I know, isn’t that crazy?! I wasn’t sick, I was home all day, and yet I never picked up a needle. BUT. That does not mean I didn’t play with yarn. I spent the day organizing my inventory of finished objects and getting ready for upcoming shows. Everything is priced, tagged and bagged. I pulled out the heavy winter items, since they won’t be big sellers for a while. I updated my Facebook Items for Sale photo album. And best of all, I worked on my Etsy shop.

A while back, I blogged about my frustrations with Etsy and got a LOT of great feedback. One seller graciously offered to look at my shop and give me some pointers. Thank you so much, Leonor, your suggestions were detailed and on point! I also took the time to look through her shop, Felt Buddies, for some ideas. She’s got some amazing needle felted sculptures.

Anyway, one of her suggestions was to improve the quality of my photos. My photos were better than when I first started on Etsy, but I knew they would be even better if I used natural light with a real person, which is exactly what Leonor told me. Yesterday, I finally did. My daughter already looked nice because of a morning music competition, so I told her to put on a neutral top and come outside with me. Her hair was up, so we focused on cowls and scarves, and I love the pictures I got!She had the most fun sitting on the hood of the truck, even if it was a bit too much sunshine. It was a great exercise for me too, to see how much better the photos look when they’re not in direct sun. We had fun playing with poses and backgrounds, and I can’t wait to get her out there with all my hats! Thank goodness we’re on Spring break–we’ll have time this week.

I also took my teddy bears out for some fresh air. I figure maybe they want to be in someone’s Easter basket this year.So my Etsy shop is updated now, and I’m pleased with it. It’s still a work in progress but I like where it’s headed. Today I’m going to take my new baby hats outside for some photos and get them listed on Etsy too. And I’m always open to hear how you make Etsy successful for you!

WIP Wednesday

Mar18

It *is* Wednesday, right? I hope so because here’s some stuff I’ve been knitting. This little black and white chevron scarf has been my go-to travel project lately, so I’ve got a good chunk done.
I’m really enjoying this one, both the process and the product. The yarn is silky smooth, doesn’t split, and when I almost drop a stitch, it doesn’t unravel too quickly. Plus it looks more complicated than it really is, so people are impressed with my mad knitting skills (which aren’t really that impressive). Everyone loves the bit of green on the end, and they’re sad when I tell them the green will get pulled out so I can stitch the ends together. I confess, I like the green too. But I want to be able to wear this with everything, which means no little pop of color.

Here’s the other thing I’m knitting. I restarted my pink and gray infinity scarf and it’s going much better. I decided to go with the addition of the white yarn, so I did a 4-row border before starting with the pink. I added one extra row of pink stockinette before switching to the gray. I think it will be lovely. It’s a pleasant knit but not as mindless, so this project stays home.Of course I have several WIPs I’ve been ignoring. I think I have a wee case of Startitis. And I also think I’m going to frog my Rikke hat. It’s pretty but I really really don’t like doing garter stitch in the round, which means I never want to pick it up to knit. And the Malabrigo Arroyo I chose for it deserves better than that. Yep. Just decided. I’m gonna frog that today.

Oh, and I bought this neat Knitted Animal Hats book by Fiona Goble, and the hats are super cute and I was so excited…until that night when I had yarn in hand and was ready to cast on. Every hat in there is knit flat and seamed! Who does that?? I know, lots of people. But not me. That’s part of the charm of hats for me, the ease, the quickness, the lack of seaming. I tried. I started one, the Mouse hat, and it wasn’t working for me. But I feel guilty returning the book, so I guess I’ll keep it for inspiration. I can always make the base hat however I want, and use the book for the ears, faces, etc. Anybody out there a fan of knitting hats flat?

My NEW new favorite WIP

Mar11

Yep. Yesterday’s favorite WIP, the pink and gray infinity scarf, has been frogged again. 144 stitches was not long enough to double. And I kept going back to the pattern and the projects and I could not (can not) for the life of me figure out why my project is not working right. Everybody else was able to knit it with 50 grams or less of the accent color, so why not me?? Well, I did figure out part of it: I was using size 10 1/2 needles instead of 10; I just accidentally grabbed the wrong tips from my interchangeable set. Would that be enough to use up that much more yarn? Seriously. I don’t have a clue. Now, the pattern calls for sport weight, and I’m using DK, but other people have used DK with the same stitch counts and same amount of yarn, so I should be able to as well. So here’s my question: should I knit to the pattern with the 10s? Or should I go down a needle size? Will that use less yarn? You’d think I would know these things but I don’t so I’m counting on some of you knitting experts to help me out here.

Since that project stalled, I did go out to my LYS yesterday and it was very refreshing. I got to wander on my own for a while, and then the nice lady asked what I was working on. Well. I’ve been wanting a white and black striped cowl for a while now, and my SIL and I both want to make one with chevrons. I want to use a natural fiber. Well, she showed me every yarn she could think of that might work. Some had white but no black, some had black but no white. Some I liked, some I…didn’t. Some I liked but didn’t want to pay $14/skein. I told her I’d ponder for a while and kept browsing. This store is unusual in that it’s in a big warehouse, and it’s actually two yarn stores in one with a tape line dividing the two. I ended up on the other side (because you have to look at *all* the yarn, of course) and happened upon some Cascade Ultra Pima. DK weight, black and white, natural fiber, nice sheen, $10 for 220 yards. It was perfect for the warm weather cowl I’m envisioning. I felt bad buying from the other store when the first lady had spent so much time helping me but it was the right yarn, and that’s the most important thing, right? I did buy some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande from her because it was on sale. It’s just awkward sometimes, having two stores in one place. We knitters are nice, thoughtful people, which means we are more likely to spend more so nobody feels bad. Maybe that’s their plan?!?

Okay, okay. I got home with my new yarn, and in talking to my SIL, we decided we both wanted a reversible cowl, one knit like a tube so the stockinette was all the way around. I played around with a lot of stitch counts and pattern repeats until I finally FINALLY ended up with something that pleases me. It’s fun, and it’s really cool that I just doing these simple things and out comes this nifty pattern. I mean, it’s just increases and decreases! How easy is that? Plus! Since it’s knit in the round, I don’t have to worry about carrying up the yarn neatly because it’s all inside. I did have to learn the provisional cast on, which was fine since I crochet and have picked up stitches before. And I will have to learn kitchener at the end to graft the two ends together to make a seamless circle. But I’m not thinking about that right now. So yeah, this is my new favorite WIP. It will travel around with me today on all my errands, and maybe tomorrow I’ll have lots of progress to show off.

My new favorite WIP

Mar10

Yesterday was kind of a rough day. I had errands to run and insensitive comments to absorb, and the latter was a bit difficult. It didn’t help that I didn’t get much knitting time, and what time I did get was spent mostly frogging and starting over.

My newest project is the Hogan Infinity Scarf, which is this really striking cowl done in dark pink and gray with a lovely lacy chevron pattern. I happened to have some Rowan DK in my stash in just the right colors, and supposedly the right amounts. I immediately cast on the 198 stitches and set about knitting. It has a border of pink on both sides, and I noticed as I finished the first pink border that my ball of yarn was awfully small. I weighed it and discovered I’d used 35 of the 50 grams on just one border. Clearly I wouldn’t have enough for the second. Well. I had to think about this.

The pattern makes a rather long scarf, and it’s done in multiples of 9. I did some math that made sense at the time (but seems suspicious now) and decided I would start over with 144 stitches. So I frogged the 11 completed rows and now have 5 rows with the new stitch count. The nice thing is that it knits up quickly, so if I get more done and it doesn’t seem long enough, I won’t mind too much starting over again.So yeah, this bit of knitting didn’t do much to improve my state of mind. After dinner I decided to go to Joann for retail therapy. It failed miserably. They didn’t have the handles I want for my blue/pink silk bag. They’d sold out of the clearance yarn I wanted to get more of. And none of the full-price yarn called my name. I tried. I picked up skein after skein and nothing happened. I didn’t want to buy yarn just to buy yarn. I left the store empty-handed…but with the understanding that I would visit my LYS today. Good solution, isn’t it? I’ll let you know tomorrow what comes home with me.

I’ll finish by sharing some beauty shots. Puppies had a photo shoot the other day and they posed wonderfully.

Jack

Grace

Finished Object Friday (times TWO!)

Feb20

Hey hey hey! I have two things to show off today! I was sitting there in the cold yesterday morning, all bundled up in my blanket with my tea, and I realized I needed to make myself a new, warmer hat. The ones I’d made myself didn’t cover my ears, and that’s necessary right now. I’d been borrowing my husband’s hat, but it’s just plain gray ribbing. Boring! Poking through my Ravelry library, I re-discovered the Vermonter hat and knew it was just the thing. Even better, one of the suggested yarns was Berroco Brio, and I just *happened* to have a beautiful single skein just sitting in my stash waiting to be used.

Two hours later, I had a new hat. Seriously. I was catching up on The Mindy Project, and before the fifth episode was over, I was done. That is a fast hat, folks. And as soon as that episode was over, I pulled it on and went out to walk the dog.Now, I modified it just a bit. I used size 13 needles and added an extra repeat of the pattern, so it came out just a tiny bit long, but I don’t care. I even had more than enough yarn leftover for a big pompom. I LOVE it. (I just sang that bit, could you tell?) The *only* thing I would say is that it has stretched a little, so if you make it, use the smaller needles for the brim, ok?Okay, next. Actually this should have come first, because I finished it on Wednesday. It’s my Swirling Spider Cowl and I’m quite delighted with it as well. Plus there’s enough yarn left over to make a cute little matching beanie!Back to yesterday. After I finished my new hat, I decided it was time to cast on for something new. I’ve been in a casting-on fury this week: I’ve started another Honey Cowl and a Rikke hat, but this is something special for me. I got a kit of Knit Picks Palette for Christmas, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, since it’s fingering weight and we all know how I feel about that. They’re all shades of purple so my knitting SIL suggested a gradient cowl. BRILLIANT. It just so happened I’d come across Purl Bee’s seed stitch gradient cowl recently. I could hold two strands together and use seed stitch to make a cowl with several shades of purple!!! Knitting doesn’t get much better than that for me.To get the right yardage, I’m using eight colors instead of five, which also meant adjusting the length of each stripe etc. After consulting with my fashion expert (aka 14yo daughter) I decided to do 3 1/4″ of each stripe, and only do one repeat instead of two. I think it will be marvelous. I’m already on the second stripe and it’s so fun. I want to knit on it all day. But I can’t because today is doctor appointment day so I’ll be taking the Rikke hat with me instead. And that’s okay too.

Still no puppy news. This volunteer-run shelter hasn’t contacted me yet and I’m trying really hard to be understanding and patient but it’s hard. This is my dog, I know it. One thing I’ve realized is that if I can hold out for a couple of days, my need for immediate gratification fades. I no longer simply NEED A NEW DOG. I want the right dog, and I’m looking at other shelters and all the other pretty dogs and my heart says, Yes, but wait for that dog. See if he can be yours. So okay. I’ll wait.

And one more thing and then I’ll be done nattering at you. You need to read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It’s beautiful and terrible and wonderful and heartbreaking. I’ve read a lot about WWII, both fiction and non-fiction, and this book made it real in a way I haven’t experienced before. I confess, I’m an easy crier, and I get very emotionally invested in my books, so maybe that’s part of it, but still, this is a fantastic book. It’s easily her most ambitious, serious, dramatic, engrossing book. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.

Yarn, Hat, Cowl

Feb18

Don’t you just love getting new yarn? It’s even better when it’s being shipped because who doesn’t love getting mail? There’s the anticipation, the anxious tracking of the package, then finally getting to rip it open and see your new treasure! Ahhh. Love it. I won two skeins of Malabrigo Worsted on eBay recently, two skeins for the price of one, and they arrived yesterday.The brown will be another unisex hat, maybe another Barley! I’m not sure about the green yet. A hat, of course, but what pattern? It might get to be something new and different.

I did finish a hat last night, a nifty Swirl Hat. I have named it the Time Machine Hat, because the rich cobalt color reminds me of TARDIS blue and because the swirl is all timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly. It’s a unisex hat, beanie hat for a big/male head, slight slouch for smaller/female head. This is more HiKoo SimpliWorsted and it’s delicious yarn. Bouncy and soft and warm. I was wearing this last night (like you do whenever you finish something new) and I really think I need to make myself one in bright pink or purple. All I have left on my needles now is another swirly cowl. I’m using my Nerd Girl Yarns Smashing in Secretly Spiders and oh it’s so lovely. Rich, deep pinks and purples and black with a sparkly thread in there too. This will be mine to keep forever and ever.Okay, that’s not really ALL I have on needles right now. I have a cardigan from months and months ago that I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to, and I have a rainbow silk cowl in that’s driving me bonkers. It was marked worsted but there’s no way. It’s a Sport weight at most. Ooh, but I have my Quadratic shawl too! I need to get that back out and finish it before spring comes along. IF spring ever comes along.

No news on the puppy front. I’m still waiting to hear from the shelter about the two puppies, though my husband did come to his senses and decide that two more dogs was too many. Sadly, I will not have to puppy brothers that we can name Fred and George. Sighhhhh. But at this point, I would be happy if we could get even one of them. My fingers are still crossed.

It is bitterly cold here today and the kids finally went back to school after a 5-day weekend, so my plans include a couch, knitting, and catching up on my TV shows. I hope you can have a day equally relaxing!

I Fought the Yarn

Feb10

So I was making this hat. It’s an awesome hat. I was using the dark gray Dream in Color Classy yarn left over from the purl ridge cowl I made recently, and … Okay. Wait. I just went back and was looking for the post about this cowl so I could link it and couldn’t find it. How did I not share this cowl?? Well, we’ll just do that first.

A week or so ago, I went to my LYS for one specific skein of yarn and found some amazing yarns in their sale section, including Dream in Color at 50% off. I grabbed two skeins, a blue/black and a gorgeous Grey Tabby. (I won’t lie, I grabbed a few other skeins too.) I loved the grey so much I cast on the next day, and out came this fabulous Present cowl.This was my first time using the Dream yarn, and it’s fantastic. It flows smoothly on the needles and it’s soft but just crisp enough that it has marvelous stitch definition. I’m in love. It’s yarn like this that makes it hard for me to go back to cheaper yarns. So anyway, this cowl used a little over half the skein, leaving me with a tad over 100 yards. I decided that had to be enough for a hat.

After much perusing on Ravelry, I decided on the Thank You Hat by Purl Soho. Everything about it was right: weight, yardage, color. And you can’t go wrong with one of their patterns. I got most of it done yesterday, and then picked it up this morning after I got rid of all the extra people (kids, husband, who needs ’em?). I just had decreases left and my yarn was dwindling. It was time to play Chicken.Faster and faster I knit, eager to get to the end before the yarn was gone. And maybe you more experienced knitters are looking at that photo and laughing because you know what I didn’t but soon would…I had PLENTY of yarn left to finish this hat! I’ve got a good yard left over. And I am so in love with this hat. I want to find every skein of this yarn and buy it all for me. I just love all the subtle variations in the color, the different shades of gray…Oh god. No. Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Pretend that didn’t happen. Just look at the hat. It’s pretty. So pretty.