Groovy Knitting Groove

I guess I am back in my knitting groove at last. I now would rather be working on one of my projects than reading or playing a relaxing game. Whew. And because of that, I actually made something in a reasonable amount of time!

I finished the Paintbrush Lace Cowl on Thursday or Friday, and blocked it Saturday. I rinsed it in human hair conditioner, which had the double advantage of softening the Silken Straw yarn and making the whole thing smell good. The cowl feels marvelous, which is good since it goes right against my extra sensitive neck. Here’s a picture of it before blocking:

Pre-blocked cowl

And here it is afterward. Isn’t that a nice pattern? I can imagine it in a mohair lace yarn being a very fine rectangular wrap. The pattern is so pleasant to knit that it would be a nice relaxing project.

The colors look funky, but at least you can see the pattern.

When I wear it it’s quite attractive, but you sure can’t see the pattern! I have no idea how I am supposed to arrange it on me. Oh well, it’s a fashion statement. Now I have to go find brown clothing to wear with it. I sure did enjoy that project, though. I am glad Jody suggested it.

Dressed rather warmly for the weather. And no, I did not knit the sweater. I get asked that a lot.

Now I am working with the multi-colored yarn I’d intended to use to make gloves. Instead I am making a nicer, more sophisticated set of fingerless mitts than the previous ones. The pattern is called Susie’s Reading Mitts, so it must be for me. It’s going quite well. I love doing a picot edging, and I like the simple lace enhancements. Mostly, though, I sure to like the yarn and the tweedy effect it makes. The little bit o’ cashmere in the yarn makes me purr (internally) with pleasure. And the tweediness is so subtle.

Susie's Reading Mitts. Colors are more warm in real life.

I also like having a thumb gusset and a bit of a thumb. That will keep me a lot warmer, I predict. I do like mitts, so that I can use my phone at a moment’s notice.

That reminds me, I am going over to a woman I know from the UU church to help her make a mitten with thumbs that come off so her child can text in the frigid north of Illinois. When I lived there (1980-1996 if you are keeping track), I didn’t want to take off my Thinsulate gloves for anything. I knitted a lot of sweaters at that time, but wore store-bought gloves mostly. I have been promised wine, so I am not sure how well I will do with figuring out patterns, but we’ll see…

Oh yes, to complete my report on my current projects, I should report on the scarf I am working on during choral rehearsals and such. I think it’s really pretty. When I got halfway through the colors on the self-striping yarn, I realized that I’d end up with a sort of short scarf. So, off I went with my very patient younger son to the yarn shop, intending to get another skein of each color of Knitshit’sFreia. But, sadly, they were out of the Metal Earth colorway. One of the other ones looks pretty good with the reddish main color as well, so I just got another color. I am not sure if I will use all of the additional skeins—I might end up with a much-too-long scarf! Here’s it’s progress:

Easy scarf that looks good.

While I happened to be at Hill Country Weavers, I decided to pick up enough worsted weight yarn to (gasp) make a garment. I was really taken with a pattern in the latest Vogue Knitting, #12 Drape Front Sweater. It’s very simple and mostly stockinette rectangles, but the front has a half twist in it, which looks really nice in a drapey yarn.

I ended up getting something close to what the pattern calls for, an alpaca from Misti Alpaca called Best of Nature Worsted. It is gray (the color is called Rockies) but just slightly mottled. It is dyed with “natural ingredients,” apparently blue corn. I hope the promise of an interesting garment will keep me working on this and that the subtle variations help keep me interested. I am really looking forward to at least making a swatch of this stuff, but those cashmere-blend mitts are holding my interest!

Thanks to all of you still reading, and thanks to those of you posting your knitting stuff on Facebook, too. I enjoy hearing from you, however I hear from you!