Holy Cowl

 I'm ready for the priesthood. Ooh, is that what they call this garment ? A Priest Hood? Nahhh..

 Here it is reversed with the pointy part in back. Worn over the head like this with that point tucked into the coat, is a good way to keep you warm. 

And then worn indoors as a shawl in the back and a cowl draped in the front...it's just right! I likey!

 For once I made something just for myself.  Knitting in black is not for the timid. I had to have a lamp trained on my work the whole time, and still made mistakes and had to rip out. 

 I used up a lot of my mix of black merino yarns, some of which were worsted weight and some DK, which I didn't realize until I started knitting with them. To make this work I began with the worsted and then used the DK doubled and when that ran out, single. So some parts are heavier and thicker and others lighter and sheer.  This is visible in this picture, where the bottom is a single DK and above it doubled. Wearing it, it's unnoticeable. Anyway, I am sure to get a lot of wear out of this as I actually have lots of black and white in my wardrobe. Not a surprise. And it will be a great head warmer when I pull it onto my head and tuck the end in my coat. 

I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of this shape, as it requires so little fiddling to wear it. And it couldn't be easier to make. Well, if one doesn't want to do multiple yarns or fancy stitches, or even knit it on the bias as I have done here and in the previous version. 

It is merely a rectangle, about 39-40" long and in this case about 13" wide. I began with three stitches and increased on each edge until the desired width was reached and then kept the dec on one edge and inc on the opposite until the desired width was reached. Then dec on both edges until no stitches remain. Simple!

I confess

I   HAVE   ORDERED    MORE   YARN. 

Stay tuned.

Shawl Selfies

How do people do it? I can't seem to take a good selfie in the mirror or otherwise. 

I looked for something in my wardrobe that would work to coordinate with the colors in this cowl and this is as close as I could come. I have nothing woodsy-fernsy. It's just not in my closet. I decided that this old Marimekko shirt was close, with shades of rust, gold and sage on black. 

I'll have to try again with yarns that are within my bailiwick. 

So that means ordering more yarn....o no! hahahaha

Wrap Me Up Shawl

 

Noro Silk Garden, 45% Silk, 45% Mohair, 10% Wool

I love this yarn! It is so soft and lightweight, like a whisper, yet warm and cuddly. This is a shawl you could easily make yourself and enjoy wearing all fall and winter. 

Here's the pattern:

With this yarn, I recommend size 4.5mm needles or US 7. Four skeins is all you will need of Silk Garden, or around 450 yards of a light worsted or DK yarn.

Cast on 3 stitches, 

Row 1 K

Row 2 P

Row 3 K 1, kfb.  On the last stitch S1 with yarn in front as if to purl 

Row 4, (wrong side) K to last stitch, S1 with yarn in front as if to purl. This row creates a ridge. You now have four stitches.

Repeat these four rows, increasing every third row and keeping the edge stitching.

When half the yarn is used up, it is time to decrease.

On Row 3, instead of kfb, you will k2tog, and continue decreasing every third row until the last three stitches remain, bind off. Simple!

Wrapped Cowl

 Hot off the presses, a new idea, for me at least. A cowl that is a shawl too. Knit from Noro Koromo, a blend of cotton, wool and silk, this light as a feather accessory does so much in one's wardrobe.

 It starts out as a long rectangle, but is joined end to side with the pointy end of the scarf and that keeps it in place. 

 The back clings nicely to the neck and shoulders and is not in the way for ease of movement.

 Or one can wear it draped and loose.

 and with the point in the back.

 or folded forward and pinned (pin included). 

I'm so excited to find a new shape to play with and to extrapolate new designs. Available for $40 + shipping. Email me.

Encouragement

Sweet Tweet and House Quilt #38 have been sold to a previous collector and I find that so encouraging.  

It makes me feel like making more new work! 

Truffle Shawl Variation #5

Well, there you have it. C'est fini. Merino, Silk and wools of various colors. It's a combination of all my fave stitch patterns,slip stitches and mitered diamonds,  and I have learned to love M1R and M1L for the center increases.

It rained (finally!) most of Sunday and that made it so cozy to knit and binge watch Professor T on PBS Passport. Feet up and a mystery to think through. Last week I binged GOLD on Masterpiece Mystery. Sooooo good. But I really love the characters and plots on Professor T. Now that I have run out of old Law and Order reruns, and caught up with Shetland episodes,  I am so happy to have found another detective program to engage the old gray cells. Of course I love the Marlow Murder Club and Maigret, and especially Unforgotten, and I ask myself, why are all the really good mysteries British? Do we dumb down mysteries here in America?

I do plan to make a pretty polymer clay pin to coordinate with this new shawl. I found a source and I won't be running short on shawl pins for a long time to come. This shawl is available for $60 plus shipping. Email me.

 It measures 33" deep and the wingspan is 72".

In the midst

 I don't often post works in progress, but I was steam blocking this shawl-start midway to finishing, to see where it is that I am going. At this point it is a tad small, at 48-ish inches across the top and 24-ish inches deep. When it cools down from the steaming I can drape it on my mannequin and decide how much farther I want to knit it. 

 This was actually started as a cowl like the Leaf Peepers Cowl I just finished, but it morphed on its own (I kid you not) into a shawl. It now looks like another variation of the Truffle Shawl  . I came across that shawl on Pinterest and followed my own link to see what else I had to say at the time. It turns out that a comment was left which I just now saw, four years later. Geesh. This reader wanted a heads up so she could possibly be first in line when I offered the next one. 

 I hope she is inclined to like this color scheme. I certainly do. 

It will get a bit wider and longer, and I will post it as a finished product then. 

Leaf Peepers Cowl

 I've been wanting a shawl or cowl or something to cover my shoulders which is where I first notice the cold. So I made this to fit that brief. I got to use my fave colors in a 'Maple Leaf' vein and knit all weekend, loving the process. I had no plan and let the yarn dictate where and what stitch or color to use. Just a glorious experience.

 Here's the other side of the loop that is the cowl shape. I like a cowl because there are no ends to dither with and it stays out of the soup. 

 I usually make really long cowls, much narrower than this one, and I like the fact that this will easily tuck into a coat without having to wrap it around the neck more than shown here. 

The yarns are all my fave merinos and merino/silk combos, no itch, no scratch.  I started it on Friday at my knitting group and finished it just today. I call that a three day project, because today was just steaming and photographing it. So at $20 a day I am offering it for $60 plus postage. Email me.

My Version of Neutrals

I chose what I think of as autumnal colors and on the more neutral end of the spectrum, if neutrals are even on the spectrum. I realize that most people have coats that are camel, tan, brown, black or gray, so they might want to coordinate a cowl to go with that palette.

 

I chose polymer clay colors in gold, and  copper and used a gold pin instead of silver. 

Available for $45 plus shipping. Email me.

On another note, I picked up my spray bottle to mist my fabric on yesterday's shirt, and this happened:

Yes, that is bleach! Turns out our wonderful April used the spray bottle which she filled with bleach water  to whiten up my laundry, which is so kind of her, since I didn't ask her to do laundry. So this piece was to be a facing on the shirt I was going to be sewing today. No biggie. I will go to WM and get more of this fabric. By the way, the laundry looks so white!!