A cowl for someone for Christmas!
It's the Honey Cowl from Madelinetosh in Mountain Colors yarn. Whole thing took about a week to knit, working at night, etc. It's a fun, mindless pattern and turns out soooo squishy and soft.
Just as a heads up to anyone who uses this yarn: It's totally great ... but ...
I almost had a panic attack when I washed the finished cowl. I got done knitting at the *ahem* bar after work, and then took it home to block it. I soaked it in Eucalan wash. I LOVE washing finished knits in this. They turn out incredibly soft, and I've never had any issues. I also like that you don't need to rise, because that means less stress on the fibers.
Anyway, I soaked the cowl for about 30 minutes, and the water in my sink was dark green. PANIC No. 1.
Then I laid it out on the table to block. And the yarn felt just awful. It's a DK weight, which I use a lot, so I'm familiar with how it acts after being soaked. But this was a nightmare. Stringy. No body. Hard to lay straight. Panic No. 2.
I love how soaking and blocking normally eases any awkward stitches in my work. But this looked like a trainwreck.
So I poured a bit of whiskey, took a drink, did some swearing and just trusted that it'd all be #@%*ing better in the morning.
But it wasn't. It still looked awful. And it wasn't even close to dry. (Panic No. 3) I needed to mail it by 2 p.m., so I committed a major knitting sin and pulled out the blow dryer. I started with no heat, then worked up to the low heat setting.
MAGIC!
Once it got close to dry, it looked AMAZING. Totally awesome. Soft and squishy with even stitches! Sooo good. Exactly what I wanted.
So if you ever use Mountain Colors Twizzle yarn, don't panic right after you block it. It'll work out in the end.
Here's the yarn on the skein:
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Other recent knits:
Man hat:
It's a broken rib pattern, cast on in multiples of 8. Pattern here.
A baby hat that was too big, so now it's mine.
Bandana cowl (for when it was minus 35 and I WALKED TO WORK):
Pattern from The Purl Bee.
[HORRIBLE PHOTO ALERT] This hat and my super-sexy mop:
No pattern, just modeled off my favorite hat.
This is WARM. The outside is wool (the grey is new, the blue is thrifted), then there's a layer of quilt batting, and then inside is Michael Miller Organic Sherpa. The most amazing stuff.
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Just a ton of baby pants:
With old sheets:
A bunch that got auctioned off:
All Quick-Change Trousers, which are reversible, from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings.
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Hoodie for a baby, or Chowder:
From Oliver+S Little Things to Sew.
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