Pattern: Simple Fitted Cowl
For: me
Yarn: ~137 yds Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in Paris Night
Needles: US 8 Takumi 16" bamboo circs; US 5 KP Options
Timeline: started 11.22.2008; finished 11.27.2008

Not much to report on this. I fell in love with this color of Malabrigo and had to pick up a skein for myself. I knit this a tiny bit longer and used a smaller needle (US 5) on the top ribbing. Finally, a cowl for me!

Pattern: Rusted Root
For: me
Size: 36-39" bust (to fit 36-37" bust)
Yarn: 3 skeins (almost exactly, including gauge swatch) Cascade 220 Heathers in Brown Heather
Needles: US 7 for body and bottom ribbing; US 3 for picking up and knitting top ribbing; US 5 for binding off top; US 4 for finishing sleeves and sleeve ribbing
Mods: A few. See the end of the entry.
Timeline: started 09.17.2008; finished 11.23.2008

Whew! This took me forever to knit up. It's sort of sad, really. Over 2 months for a short-sleeve sweater knit with worsted weight yarn? Crazy! It had nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with the craziness that my life turned into for a while. Another issue I ran into was that I lost a bunch of weight after starting it. It's still a little big around the waist, but I do like how it looks for the most part. If I were to make it again, I'd knit the smaller size (32-35" bust) for the top, since I have bizarrely small shoulders and do a few more waist decreases. Also, I was really, really paranoid about the lace panel making the ribbing pop up at the top, so I knit the ribbing on much smaller needles. It worked pretty well.

I wasn't going to block this, but I'm glad I did. I was able to open up the lace a bit, add a bit of length to the body, and make the sleeves a bit longer, too. It also allowed me to pretty much eliminate the tiny bit of rolling on the bottom ribbing, and helped out a lot with the ribbing on the sleeves and collar turning up. All in all? A successful knit.

Changes:
- Added increases for hip shaping.
- Bottom: knit in 2x2 ribbing on US 7s; 10 rows of ribbing instead of 12; EZ's sewn bind-off for bottom
- Collar: picked up and knit, then knit in 1x1 ribbing on US 3s for 4 rows; US 5s for 1x1 bind off
- Sleeves: knit 2 rows in stockinette on US 4s (decreasing 1 stitch on the first row to get a multiple of 3); continued on 4s for 2x1 ribbing; finished with EZ's sewn bind-off

Pattern: Simple Fitted Cowl
By: me!
For: Baylie
Yarn: 165 yds Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool in Olive
Needles: US 8 Takumi 16" bamboo circs; US 6 KP Options
Timeline: started 11.14.2008; finished 11.14.2008

I looked and looked for a simple cowl pattern that I thought would stay up on my face, but couldn't seem to find one, so...I made it up. This is knit from the bottom up, with a tiny bit of shaping and a switch to a smaller needle size for the top ribbing. Simple! The pattern is available on Ravelry for free, so have at it.

I am in love with it! The yarn definitely helped. Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool is really a knitter's yarn: great hand, soft, slight variations in tone, wonderful stitch definition. Just an all-around gorgeous yarn. I'd love to make a sweater out of it.


And I made a second one almost immediately. I guess I needed some instant-gratification knitting.


Pattern: Simple Fitted Cowl AKA Obamarama Cowl
By: me!
For: Jen from Loopy's Knit Night
Yarn: 121 yds Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in Oceanos; 22 yds Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in Sealing Wax for stripes
Needles: US 8 Takumi 16" bamboo circs; US 6 KP Options
Timeline: started 11.15.2008; finished 11.15.2008

I really wanted to use up some leftover Malabrigo I had, so I decided to make a second version of the cowl. This one (obviously) also had some single rows in a contrasting color. Once I was partway into it, I realized it reminded me of the colors of some of the Obama posters, hence the name. Unfortunately, it wasn't something that I could see myself wearing, so I handed it over to a hard-core Obama supporter at knit night. Everyone wins.


And I may just have a third on the needles. This one's all mine.

Pattern: Thorpe
For: Ashton
Yarn: ~86 yds Muench Black Forest Naturwolle in Hawaii for the top; ~49 yds Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Blue Blood Red for the rest
Needles: US 9 KP Options
Hook: Size H
Timeline: started 11.19.2008; finished 11.21.2008

This is a cute, simple pattern. I didn't think it was really my style, but I could see myself making one for really, really cold days. I actually like the feel of the ear flaps. If I do make it again, I'll probably go down a needle size on the garter stitch section. I was a bit worried that it was going to be too small and my gauge seemed a bit tighter than it should have been, so I ended up doing 2 extra rounds of increases. In all honestly, I probably would have been fine with it as written, or maybe with just one extra round of increases.

I bought this Naturwolle a while ago and didn't have any luck with finding a pattern for it, but finally found a good match in this pattern. I really like how this colorway looks knitted up. I knew I was going to run out of the Naturwolle before finishing, but I was luckily at my LYS (Loopy Yarns) and grabbed a skein Lamb's Pride Bulky that matched the red perfectly. Just wonderful.

Oh, and I actually managed to figure out how to do a decent half double crochet. I'm rather impressed with myself. I did go up a hook size because I tend to be stupidly tense when I crochet.

Pattern: Moss Rib Stitch Scarf
For: Baylie
Yarn: 2 hanks of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Mahogany Mix (yarn held double)
Needles: US 10 KP Harmonies; bound off on 13s
Finished Size: 54" long x 5" wide
Timeline: started 11.17.2008; finished 11.20.2008

I decided to make a nice, squishy scarf and wanted a simple stitch pattern that would look great and not roll. I found the Moss Rib Stitch Scarf pattern and thought it would be perfect. I cast on 32 stitches and held the yarn doubled throughout, and the resulting fabric is phenomenal. I haven't used Ultra Alpaca in a while, but I really need to find a reason to make something for myself with it. Oh, and I just knit until I ran out of yarn.

Pattern: Turn A Square
By: Brooklyn Tweed
For: Baylie
Yarn: MC: ~88 yds Rowan Harris Aran in 004; CC: ~33 yds Masham (1/2 Wensleydale) that I dyed and spun at Yarn School Spring 2008
Needles: US 3 for ribbing, US 6 for everything else
Timeline: started 10.07.2008; finished 10.08.2008

I've wanted to make this for a while, but (as you can see) I'm not the best at wearing a regular hat. Luckily, I had someone to make this for, so I went for it. The pattern was, as always with Jared's patterns, straightforward. This was the first time I was able to knit my handspun up into something, so that was awesome. I'm really pleased with the way the colors changed slowly.

The only problem I had is that I initially knit the ribbing on 6s and it looked insanely sloppy. I went back, snipped the thread, and undid the ribbing. I just picked up from there and knit the ribbing back down on 3s. It worked out really well.

The color isn't accurate in this picture.
Pattern: Ridged Lace Cowl
For: Me
Yarn: 1 skein Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted (hand-dyed, so no color info)
Needles: US 8 Takumi 16" bamboo circs
Timeline: started 11.05.2008; finished 11.08.2008

I loved knitting this. Malabrigo is a great yarn for a cowl and the pattern repeat was easy to remember. The ends do sort of roll a bit. If I made another, I'd probably take out one pattern repeat to make the fit a bit more snug. Other than that, I adore it.

Man, life can be crazy. I've been knitting. Barely. My spinning has been even less. It's weird. However, I do have a few FOs to post; it's just a matter of getting a chance to take pictures when the light is semi-decent.

As for my WIPs (all links lead to Ravelry)...

Smokin'
I just need to finish the collar (having pattern-related issues), do the button bands, and add the pockets. This has been on the needles for 7 months, which is pretty ridiculous. I am completely unmotivated to figure out where I am and what the problem is.

Rusted Root
I cannot believe this has been on the needles for 2 months. It isn't hard at all. I'm just stalled out. It doesn't help that I tried it on and it seems baggy to me. Plus, I know I'm going to have to do something fancy with the neck so that I don't get a bump where the lace section is.

Beer Gloves
I knit one of these, then knit the second, and then lost the first. So, this may be an FO; maybe not. Maybe if my house wasn't such a disaster, I'd be able to find it.

Golden Harvest
I hate knitting these. I'm only about an inch or so in, but the yarn (Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair) was a poor choice, I think. I like to pull really hard on the yarn when I'm doing magic loop (or even using DPNs), and this stuff just pulls apart if I'm not careful. I still think it's gorgeous and I love a single-ply, but this is definitely not what I should be using for this pattern. Hmmm...sounds like I just decided to frog these, doesn't it?

FO pictures to come: Snicket Socks, Turn A Square, and Ridged Lace Cowl.