10.10.12

Have you met my glass-headed model? I call him THAT'S HEADLEY after Harvey Korman's character in Blazing Saddles. 






 

Here he is modeling a cowl I knit for my Oregon Sister-in-Law following the Ambitus Cowl pattern. The fabric is a wool and bamboo blend. It has a lovely sheen to it and pretty color variations.

Cascade Lana Bambu is a blend of 79% wool and 21% viscose from bamboo fiber. It is not that much fun to work with but it has been made with a nice blend of color. I like all the colorways it comes in but when I was in the shop, they only had two or three choices and I liked Ruby best. I bought it on a whim with no clear idea what I would do with 196 yards but it turns out that at 4.5 stitches to the inch, it makes a nice cozy neck piece to wear under a pullover.

2.2.11

Cast on for a new cowl. This one is Cream and Sugar pattern, by Alana Dakos. I am doing mine in stash yarn. It is Araucania Ranco Multy. I have completed the search for the correct needles (half an hour), the cast-on of 250+ stitches (15 minutes), photography and photo editing (15 minutes). The color looks quite Valentine-y and seems appropriate for a February knit. Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy my Lava Flow even though I never found the red alpaca blend I had hoped to find. I will be casting on another Windschief hat in the next few days.

1.20.11

I finished Purl Ridge and "blocked" it with this unusual invention. I turned it every 20 minutes or so and it came out without any creases.

This was fun to knit but I think I would use more stitches if I used the same weight yarn.

Malabrigo Silky Wool is listed as a DK weight. I got about 4.5 stitches per inch so next time with DK, I will cast on about 250, maybe 275.

Here it is all ready to wear.

This one is finished, also and on its way to the Gift Box.

1.9.11

I am still cowling along. The light looks good for pictures so there may be a post #2 today.

12.16.10

So. I bought one skein of Cascade 220 in a Heather pink for a ski hat. I used two strands and a provisional cast on for a short rib edge, thinking I would go back and knit it down for a doubled up rib if there was enough yarn. I made it all the way to the last decrease, slipped it on my head and didn't like it. Ripped it back to the first decrease row and took it almost all the way up straight. I thought I had seen a "neck gaiter" that could convert to a hat and thought I would give it a try. I made an eyelet row and finished off the top edge. I had to unravel my swatch to make a drawstring and to use for a single crochet Bind Off  of the provisional Cast On, which I think I may have "unvented" after about sixteen attempts that did not satisfy me. I found out with the live stitches in a rib pattern, knitting down the other way

just isn't that simple for me. I ended up dropping the stitches that would not ravel and crocheting a slip stitch to cover where they might have been.  I fiddled around with size zero needles and two strands of multi-pink sock yarn and "unvented" a puffy garter stitch heart for the ends of the drawstring that I like very much.