Another Honey Cowl and a Class

I had the idea to knit a thank you gift for someone, but no particular plan. Then I saw this yarn at Red Purl and it didn't take me 20 seconds to decide to get it.

It's a new yarn Amy's carrying from Fleece Artist called Kidazzle. It's 70% Merino, 20% Kid (mohair) and 10% Nylon. It's a DK weight, and like a lot of stuff from Fleece Artist, the colours are outstanding. I think this colourway is Forest Fairie, but the tag isn't labeled so I'm not sure. (Pet peeve alert there, if you're listening, Fleece Artist.)

Instead of spending a lot of time looking for a pattern, I used one that I already loved and knew would be great for a variegated yarn--the Honey Cowl from Madelinetosh. Yes, this is the third one I've made, but the first one was for the shop and the second was a gift so it's not like I have a pile of them sitting in my closet.

I have to say this one flew off the needles. Partly it was because I was a little bit obsessed and partly it was because I came up with another improvement on my technique.

As before, I knit it with no purling. The problem with this method is that while you are doing the K1, slip 1 row, you are looking at the wrong side and it is hard to tell if you are supposed to be knitting or slipping. I discovered a trick to not only make this problem go away, but to make it more efficient (and thus faster) as well. Yay, me!

Once again, a slip stitch pattern does wonders for
a variegated yarn.

But it can be "yay, you!" as well. I'm going to be teaching a class at Red Purl about both of these methods in December. Talk to Amy about signing up.

The class will be offered twice: Saturday, December 10 and Thursday, December 15. You'll get all the information in either class, but if you want to come to both to review or get extra help, you can--at no extra charge.

When I dropped off this cowl at Red Purl today (as a temporary sample only), Rose was there. After our obligatory catch up about house progress (she has a door on her bathroom now--let's all be very happy for her!), we did had ourselves a nice knitting talk.

She liked the cowl but was disappointed when Mary Ann told her there was no more Kidazzle in the shop. After she had already checked out, I found a couple more skeins, including a gorgeous purple (her favourite). She had that purchased in five seconds...I honestly barely had time to finish my sentence before it was at the register being paid for! And she's committed to the class so I am looking forward to seeing her there. (Make sure to reserve your spot.)

Can I say again how much I love these colours? You can see that they did sort of pool in the pattern but because the slip stitches add an extra layer it's more like the colours flow than that they pool. I am loving the effect, whatever you may call it. I'm giving the cowl to a blond and I think the colours will look very good on her.

I was also happy with myself for knitting pretty much the entire project in continental style. I've tried that on projects previously but never been able to do it. This time I did it! I can't be sure yet if that means I've passed a Project Stats
Started: 25 Oct '11 / Finished: 5 Nov '11
Pattern: Honey Cowl by Ann Maria for Madelinetosh, free
Materials: Fleece Artist Kidazzle (Forest Fairie, I think), $24
tipping point and will continue to be comfortable in continental style or if it was just easier on this particular project. In any case, I am sure that is part of why this project went so quickly.

I have to admit I'm going to be a little sad to see this one go (even as I'll be very happy to give it). This cowl used about 2/3 of the skein, which means I have 1/3 left to use. I think I'm going to see how big a cowl I can get from it. I'm not ready to be done knitting with it yet...