Serenely Knitting

Happy Sunday, all!

I have just returned from a week at my cousin's cottage, and got so much knitting done, I felt the urge to share it all with you!

After a botched attempt to head south for a week, my cousin invited me to her cottage near Tiny, Ontario (nestled between the over-hyped Wasaga Beach and Midland). We biked, watched sunsets, tanned and spent our evenings watching Homeland and knitting up a storm.

Sunset over Georgian Bay

After taking a short bike ride to watch the sunset, we brewed up some tea and retreated to the couch for a marathon of classic movies and Homeland. I brought more yarn than I expected to get through, and surprisingly, managed to knit up quite a few items!

The first was the famed "On the Hudson Cowl" by Sandra Singh. A few months ago I won the pattern, eagerly cast-on for the Knit-A-Long (KAL) and managed to screw up so bad that I abandoned the project. I frogged a portion of it a month ago, and decided that this was my opportunity to complete it.

On the Hudson Cowl - Complete

I made a tiny little boo-boo on the pattern - otherwise I am completely in love with it! If you see at the bottom of the cowl, right before the ribbing is a tiny section of dark grey lace pattern. That is not supposed to be there. My subconscious must have made me cast-on the grey colour, so to avoid taking it apart I did one repeat of the lace before finishing with the ribbing. Many thanks to Sandra Singh for creating such a beautiful pattern, and for having the pattern contest!

Next, I decided to begin preparing for the Vaughan of a Kind Show. This is usually held around Christmas time in Vaughan ON, and it's never too early to begin prepping for a Craft Show!

I brought a bunch of yarn for making my bow headband. I will be selling them along with the "City Cowl". They are made of super soft premium acrylic (wool is too scratchy, and the past has taught me that not many people will pay for cashmere or alpaca unless requested specifically). My favourite yarn for this is Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand: her colours are modern, and the yarn washes up so soft, it really is lovely for an acrylic.

My cousin Elisa modelling her grey bow headband

After knitting up a whopping five headbands and bows - I got bored with it, and cast on my next project: The Organic Mushroom Hat.

I knit it up with Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton in Macadamia. It is super soft, although quite difficult to work with (like any cotton). It knit up quickly with US 10.5 circular needles, and I finished it off with US 9 DPNs. 

After completing it, I was doing my usual people.com gossip reading and came across a picture of Siena Miller rocking a very similar hat. I love finding photos of celebrities wearing knit items. It somehow validates to the skeptical world that knitting can be modern and fashionable, and isn't just an old lady sport. 

The Organic Mushroom Hat (pattern on Ravelry)

Siena Miller in her strikingly similar knit hat

I can't wait to wear this lovely hat on a fall day. It's feminine and dainty, and still has a bit of an edge. The cotton is super soft, and the detail of the lace pattern is really pretty up close.

All in all, I had a very relaxing week away from the big city, and look forward to keeping up my knitting streak!

Have a wonderful week!

Lots of love,

Little Ms Cowl Co.

New Year, New Knitting

Happy Friday morning to all!

I have pledged to not necessarily de-stash my incredibly large yarn stash this year. When I wrote "not necessarily", I mean I pledge to use and enjoy my stash - knitting up fabulous little and not-so-little projects with some of the fabulous yarn I have tucked away safely.

Last week, my boyfriend practically forced me to document my stash. I took a picture and popped everything into Ravelry. I now have everything catagorized not only by weight and colour, but dye lot, quantity, and queued it all for intended projects. I then catagorized all my yarn in numbered bins, according to quality and intention. For example:

Bin #1 is my high end swanky yarn - cashmere, silk, alpaca, llama, wool etc. Lace weight, DK, high hopes.

Bin #2 is all my Michaels purchases - kitchen cotton, various Lion Brand yarns, Bernat etc. This is the slightly embarrassing part of my stash, as I have begun to make a reputation for myself as a bonafide yarn snob. I blame this bin on my fear of screwing up on good yarn, so it's my practice yarn.

Bin #3 is all my large quantities of one yarn. I have five each of Abuelita Thick & Thin in grey, pink, taupe and tweed. I have 10+ of Lang Tosca brown/blue, orange/brown, purple/green. This can be to make larger projects, or potentially for more cowls.

Bin #4 is blanket yarn. I bought a TON of Lion Brand (my favourite affordable not-really-luxury yarn) Homespun and Thick and Quick, and have associated afghan and blanket patterns. I'll get to it eventually.

Bin #5 - also known as the cowl bin - is yarn I have been using for the "City Cowl". It is Filtes King Van Dyck yarn, and although I didn't think I had much left, I still have 44 skeins. I have unabashedly hoarded certain colours to potentially make myself a sweater.

Bin #6 - also known as the headband bin - is all my Lion Brand Vanna's Choice. I use this for making bow headbands. It has the perfect colours, is quite soft for an acrylic, and doesn't irritate the ears like a wool might.

So there you have it. If you decide to join Ravelry, add me as a friend and check out my ridiculous stash. I vow to use it and love it and replenish it and keep it organized.

Until next time,

Little Miss Cowl Co