Tag Archives: cowl

Cast On: Volcano Trail

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Summer had me itching for a new project aka new cast on. So Iet myself cast on my Volcano Trail that I had been wishfully knitting.

I am just barely past the cast on, lol. But this first chunk will be a stockinette section folded over and seamed to itself for the top edge. So I am holding the first color double with itself. I am excited for the colors I have picked for this project, they are quite eclectic.

First up is some Shibui Knits Staccato in the Raspberry color and next I will add some Spunky Eclectic Spunky Socks in the Wild Child color. My third color is a mystery skein of greenish sock yarn that I got in a mystery box purchase. And I will round out this project with a skein of Mrs Crosby’s Hat Box in the Pansy colorway.

So if those yarn names mean nothing to you, basically the cowl will move from pinks to greens and back to purple thanks to marling. This project promises minimal purling so that is a bonus for this garter loving girl!

Happy Knitting!!

Wishful Knitting: Volcano Trail

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With all the marling fun I have been having with my Into The Light and In The Light I decided to fall down the pattern rabbit hole and see what else I could make holding fingering weight yarn double.

The Volcano Trail by Maxim Cyr (Rav link) really popped out to me. It is designed at DK gauge but uses fingering held double. So this will use up a TON of yarn. And I think the finished project is super cute.

I think I might cast this on after I finish my current marling project…..I may or may not have already pulled yarn from my stash, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Polar Vortex

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Here in Kansas it gets pretty cold during the winter but we rarely have polar like temperatures or wind chills. But yesterday made up for it! We have -15 to -25 degrees Fahrenheit wind chills at 6 am. I took extra care to put warm woolies on the kids and make sure the fur baby didn’t dawdle on his morning constitutional. But I still had to walk from my parking spot a couple of blocks to my office….

I had my Rainbow Pop hat, my honey cowl, my fingerless mitts and not pictured my Neon Vanilla Socks. I really need to find my commercially made wool gloves because fingerless really didn’t cut it at -15. But I managed to keep all 10 fingers for knitting.

And in true Kansas fashion it will be above freezing by the weekend with possible 40 to 50 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Mother Nature keeps us guessing around here!

I hope you all stayed warm where you are! Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Neon Jungle Cowl

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My Neon Jungle is finished in all it’s neon glory!

Pattern: Neon Jungle by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich

Yarn: Frolicking Feet DK Gradients in Pot O’Gold by Done Roving Company

Mods: None

Needles: US 10 to get gauge

I am so pleased withe the finished item! It’s bright, cheery and the perfect winter pick-me-up. And both the right side and wrong side of the fabric look great. (I neglected to get a photo of the inside…but you can kinda see it in blue/purple part that is flopped open around the neck in the second photo.) I still think this might end up in the gift pile, I’m debating.

My one complaint is about the yarn. This is my second go with this brand. And I learned the hard way that their dye has a tendency to run. A pair of socks I knit bled the purple or blue dye and completely dulled the whole sock! I contacted the company twice about the yarn and received ZERO feedback. I was disappointed. I wasn’t going to buy their yarn again but I got this DK skein on super clearance at a yarn store closing.

So this time around I was careful being wiser this time. I washed the FO in cold water and wool wash. Then I rinsed and washed a second time in pretty warm tap water and boy oh boy did the red dye let loose. I had thrown in a color catcher so most of it ended up on that.

So I decided to use a Citric Acid Soak with the cool colors in one bowl and the red color in a second bowl. I followed all the directions and microwaved the lot and set it out to dry. I tested the red portion and dye is STILL coming off. So this FO is in time out until I can redo the citric acid soak. Harrumph…but it’s still gorgeous.

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Neon Jungle Cowl

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My Neon Jungle has grown. I’m cooling off in the color progression!

We had another super cold snap turned 50+ degree melt turned cold snap again. This means I have had some time to knit by the fire. I do admit that I have made some silly mistakes in this super easy pattern. But the texture and lovely color changes hid it well!

Happy Knitting!!

Neon Jungle Update

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My Neon Jungle has been my nighttime/bedtime knitting. And the rainbow has been surprisingly motivating despite pretty pronounced evening nausea.

I’m all the way through the warm colors: Red, Pink, Orange, and Yellow. And i’m just starting into the green transition. This piece will definitely be served well by a good blocking. And I’ve found a couple places where I got off patter a bit but noone but I will ever notice. This object *might* end up in the gift pile for next Christmas….time will tell. I’m not sure I’m in love with it yet. But it’s still a fulfilling and fun knit.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Neon Jungle

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My morning sickness has not abated but it has eased some. And while Jellybean is still on a sleep jihad….my knitting mojo has returned some. Right now I need brain soothing easy knitting that is easy to pick up and put down.

I pulled one the last projects I kitted up for the 2017 Pigskin Party and got going on my Neon Jungle Cowl. This yarn has vexed me a bit as this is the third project I have tried it with. It knits up very nicely and the colors are lovely but something has just been not right up to this point.

I think this project might just be it. The pattern is a simple two row repeat and so far the gradient changes are showing off nicely. I’ll reserve final judgement until I get to the orange to yellow change as that will be the most vivid. But so far I am happy. And this rainbow has been a cheery change to the dreary cold winter.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Daunt Cowl

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My Daunt Cowl is finished! Thanks to my hubby and some play dates I had some kid free time to dedicate to this project.

Pattern: Daunt Cowl by Kino Knits

Needles: US 4s

Yarn: Scraps for the stripes and 1 skein Happy Feet Splash for the MC all for a total of 1,013 yards

Mods: Omitted the short rows and accidentally seamed into a möbius

Other than my fail of seaming while watching a 5 yo and 3 yo leading to a unintentional möbius cowl I’m SUPER pleased! The colors play nicely and it’s very warm around my neck. The rainbow makes me happy and actually the möbius makes it hang nicely as a single loop.

It feels really good to get this knit off the needles and to start 2018 in a good place. Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Daunt Cowl (#3)

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My Daunt Cowl feels like it’s really picking up steam!!

Last I posted I was finishing the purples. Well, over the Christmas holiday weekend I plowed through the blues and greens. And then before New Years I worked through yellows. I am finding the shrinking yarn ball more of a motivation than the stripes. Which I think is a weird twist to this project. Usually it’s the color change that pulls at me.

I only have 4-5 colors left and I really want this cowl to be finished! Boy howdy is it cold here in Kansas!

Brrrr…..and Happy Knitting!!