Seasonal Accessories

I've been going through a phase, one defined by an obsession with cables and bulky yarns.

I have been wanting to knit a Chunky Cowl for a while now. I love how bulky yarns are continuing to be a fashionable staple for the Fall and Winter. Last December I found some Malabrigo that would be perfectly suited for a cowl and my mother also had some US 15 needles on hand, so this project worked out great!

I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I just cast on with a general idea of what I wanted. It worked out pretty well ending up perfect in size with a little bit of ease. Malabrigo Yarn Chunky was a dream to work with, I love the stitch definition I get with it and how super soft it knits up. I definitely want to make myself a bulky sweater with it soon!

Swirling Gauntlets were just one of those quick knits, we are all guilty of this kind of project at one point or another. Evelyn puts it best, sometimes you just need a palate cleanser, something small and satisfying.

The pattern is Swirling Gauntlets by Susanna IC, the cabling is simple but fun. I knitted these in Rowan Felted Tweed dk, one of my favorite yarns for its texture and colorways. The soft halo of this yarn envelops the cabled detail a little, but I actually find myself liking that aspect.

Now I can add these two knits to my ever expanding accessories collection! I'm definitely looking forward to wearing them both.

Work-in-progress Wednesday - #15

This WIP Wednesday brought to you by....the sun!

That's right!  The sun has finally decided to return to the triad area of North Carolina!

So, I'm more energized and halfway decent photographs are now possible!

Knitting:

I attempted further work on my poor self-designed sweater...this did not go well.  I'm still struggling with the shoulder/neckline shaping.  At this point I'm positive that the key to shaping in this case is short rows.

I have also cast on a new project, one I've been dreaming of for a while now.  These will be a lovely pair of Belle Epoque socks (sorry for lack of project photo right now, the hospital frowns upon the use of bandwidth for frivolous things so I am blogging from my phone today). ***Sorry for the confusion here, I'm perfectly fine, I work at the hospital because I'm a student at the medical school. Sorry!

Next I have the start of part of a BFF cowl that I'm knitting with the talented (and fellow scientist) Ashley from Misty Mountain Designs/Geoknitology.  This is part of a KAL with Evelyn from Project: Stash, you all should find a buddy and participate too, it's a great way to connect with other knitters!

I hope that you are all having a great Wednesday and I hope that you also join in for WIP Wednesday with Tami's Amis.

An Experimental Cowl

I've always been one of those knitters that is completely dependent on patterns for pretty much everything.  Yeah, I can knit a vanilla sock without direction, but anything more than that and I'm completely, utterly lost.

So, one of my Fiber Goals for 2012 this year was to
     Design a pattern and publish


The main reason for this goal was to help me escape from my comfort zone a little bit more and just try knitting something without a pattern for guidance.  So, I decided to start simple, cast on a cowl, and see what happens.

And I ended up with my Spiral Secret Cowl:

Yarn: ~160 yarns of worsted or aran weight yarn.
Needle: One 16" circular needle, US 8.
Gauge: Not very important, to your liking.

Cast on 80 stitches loosely.

Place marker and join for round

Row 1: *K2, P2, repeat from * to end.
Row 2: P1, *K2, P2, repeat from*, ending in K2, P1.
Row 3: *P2, K2, repeat from* to end.
Row 4: K1, *P2, K2, repeat from*, ending in P2, K1.

Repeat rows 1-4 until cowl reaches 7" or until desired length and bind off loosely.

The final product is very warm with an attractive pattern.  I think that you could use single ply handspun for this cowl very easily too.

I would not really count this as a pattern though, because it is so simple and easy.  So, I'm not going to count this towards my fiber goal of designing a pattern.  But I think that this is a huge step forward and next time I will be up for designing something more ambitious such as a sock pattern.

I really loved the yarn I used for this project.  In fact, I enjoyed every part of working with it, which was a relief because I had never even heard of the brand before.

This yarn is Brown Sheep Lanaloft, which is a worsted weight, single ply yarn in 100% wool.  I have no complants whatsoever with this yarn, and a majority of Ravelers seem to agree with me according to the star rating.  Unlike most single ply yarns I've worked with (...Noro), the fiber isn't horribly overspun, but is not splitty.  Also, at ~$7.50 for 100 grams and 160 yards, this yarn will now be my go to cheap wool instead of Cascade 220.

Also, look at that bright, happy yellow!