My Year of the Cowl

But wait - here's another one..

It's a bigger version of the previous Stockholm-Helsinki Cowl - a few more stitches and almost twice as much yarn. And it is sooooooooo cosy - it's hard to take it off.
And another pair of mitts - for someone's birthday -

The colours are a bit more subtle - less contrast for the pattern. But I like them anyway.

Sharing the love

Well - it's winter and I want everyone to have nice warm mitts. These are for Sue

Completion

Well I have finished the Ngaire Mitts. Now to test them out - first time I've had mitts that are longer. I also extended them a bit at the finger end

Happy Birthday Queen

 A quick update on the squares - I am now working on the last 25%. Dyeing purples and blues and greys.

And one mitts all done bar the thumb. 

New project

This is the 3rd and final instalment of the Vintage Purls Summer Sock Club - using the yarn from the 2nd instalment! Ngaire mitts. Good timing as we have definitely hit winter today with snow all around.

Snug as a bug...

 This is the Stockholm-Helsinki cowl - knitted in Shepherd 12 ply 100% Lambswool felted.
And boy is it warm and cosy.

 I think I would only wear it like this if I was overheating

 Here is the latest batch of squares for the rainbow blanket - over halfway now.....

A honey of a honey

The photos are a bit average - but the Honey Cowl is done. And it is lovely. As it has just got cold it is perfect timing. I like these longer cowls as they can hang in a single length or be doubled up for extra warmth.

Blue and Firewood

 I've been working on the blue squares for the blanket. It is a lovely mix.
What should I work on next? The pinks, purples or the reds?

And because winter is fast approaching I have a desire for lots of cowls - and recently uncovered some yarn I bought specifically for a Honey Cowl - it is Madelinetosh - and the colour is Firewood. It has a lot more browns in it that you can see from my photo - you'll just have to imagine it. Perfect for autumn so I am keen to complete it.

Socks

 These are Uno Socks - another entry into the Unwind Design competition. I like them because they can be worn in summer with sneakers - or something. They were my first top-down sock knit and I was really impressed with the pattern - it was like building something very intricately.

30 squares done and another FO

 Well here is the latest on the blanket.
And I finished another item - the Atle Beret/hat. The beautiful cashmere yarn was a gift (thanks Fee) and it is going to be so soft and warm this winter. And there is enough yarn leftover to get some fingerless mitts out of it - matchy matchy.

I like the way this fits - a bit slouchy

Some progress and an FO

 Some more dyeing for the Rainbow blanket - this is getting addictive.

And a Finished Object - another Hazelhurst scarf. 

This is for a gift and is in a lovely Veranda Yarns merino/silk yarn.

It was a bit of an arduous knit but saved by the beautiful grey/blue and the soft and cosy yarn.

10 down - only 98 to go

Well here are the first squares of my Rainbow Blanket
Some of my dyeing is a bit different from what I am aiming for but I have decided to go with the flow on that or I'll never get there. They look good framed in the cream.

Cowl completed

 Well it's finished and it's lovely - even if we are having an Indian summer here.
I'm still not sure that the colours are really me....but it's a good pattern and warm yarn.
I think I may be making more cowls this year - as the answer to my cold neck.

Something old and something new

I had knitted one of these for my design project and decided to finish the pair - and send them off to the person who has a matching shawl

 I really had the urge to start something new, despite having 2 other projects on the go, and so I launched into another of the designs from the Unwind competition.  This is Doe Arnot's Crochet Alpaca Cowl. She has posted the pattern on Ravelry. I am using a Flagstaff Alpaca/merino/nylon bland that she has hand dyed with this cowl in mind - long dye runs. It is quite clever as you join as you go - saving a lot of work at the end. I am about halfway around and then there is an edge to add. As we head into autumn it will be handy soon

My first designs

Without the deadline of the Unwind Design Competition these mitts would definitely still be a work in progress - probably forever. Knitting them up was the easiest part - writing up the pattern 'properly' was not so easy. And getting Word and Excel pages into a pdf and then posting them on Ravelry (the Mecca of Knitting websites) was an even bigger. But all done and dusted by 2am Friday morning!

Anyway - the details. They had to be knitted in 4ply/fingering weight NZ yarn so I used Vintage Purls Sock yarn because I seem to have quite a lot of it and it is hard wearing but soft and comes in great colours.

The mitt you see below I called Birdie's Mitts after Birdie Bowers - one of those who perished with Scott on his ill-fated journey to the South Pole. Birdie was the man in charge of stores amongst other things and was the backbone of the expedition. Unmarried, I imagined these to be the sort of mitts his mother might have knit for him to keep his hands warm while he worked.

 And I decided to show them in another softer colour way also.

The next mitts came from a prototype I made last year. I gave them to my sister and she wore them all winter so I figured they must have some redeeming features. They are warmer because of the 2 yarns used that create a double layer. I called these Bonnie Jean Mitts - in memory of my mother who was called Jean and Bonnie.
Once again I made 2 pair to show the effects of different colour ways. They use various Sanquhar patterns - from Scotland.

So at the weekend we had Unwind. 70 mad keen knitters all in one place - including my 2 sisters.
There were classes: I went to ones on crochet, design and reversible cables. There were also Trade stalls and a lot of yarn and goodies found new homes.
Oh - I didn't win the design competition - a beautiful lace-pattern shawl did. All the entries were lovely and I have my eye on 2 in particular that I plan to make soon. Watch this space.