two little FO’s…

It’s been a while since I posted about a finished object! There are a few reasons..

1. I’ve had a few different things on the needles at the same time
2. I’ve been doing a little more drawing, and other crafty things
3. I found a hole in the sleeve of the jumper I’ve been working on, and it made me SO MAD that I threw it back in the bag, and haven’t had the stomach to pick it up again since

I will finish that jumper.. I will, I promise.. Just, not any time soon..

ANYWAY! Onto something I have finished!

Yes, it’s another cowl! I know, I know, I need to do something different, but I just love this pattern, and I can’t talk enough about the wool! This is Manos del Uruguay Maxima, in the Mixed Berries colour-way. It’s squish and beautiful, I just can’t get enough!

Using 6mm circular needles, I cast on 146 stitches, gave the cast on a single twist, then used 1 stitch joined the round. I worked in seed stitch until I ran out of wool.

Just like my last cowl, this one is long enough to twist and slip over my head, making a super thick neck warmer. This wool is really gorgeous, you can’t see any distinct twist, it’s almost like the strand has been felted. Love love love!! And, I probably don’t need to share this, but I have another 4 skeins at home, waiting to be made into something gorgeous!

I did say that I had 2 FO’s for this post.. And here it is! Haha, it’s not very exciting, just a hottie cover-up! I chose this to teach myself how to knit in the Continental style. I’ve always been an English knitter, but I was curious about Continental. What I found, is that the knit stitch is easy and really quick! The purl stitch, however, is a bit trickier, and weirdly, it hurt my right thumb when working on the back side. Anyway, I feel confident enough to switch between the two styles, depending on the project, and my mood.

Which style of knitting do you prefer? Have you tried both? I’m very interested to know how many people are in each camp!

marie antoniette mobius…

I love quick, one skein knits! That instant satisfaction of a finished item is just thrilling! When I laid my hands on this gorgeous 10 ply merino wool by Manos del Uruguay, I knew I’d have to start working with it straight away. The colourway is ‘Marie Antoniette’, hence my project name.

I referenced my Jo Sharp Modern Knits pattern book, and found a simple twisted cowl that would work wonderfully with my single skein. I figured out that I only had 2/3 of the recommended yardage, so I cast on 141 stitches and would work until I ran out of wool.

Before using 1 stitch to join in the round, I carefully gave my cast-on a single twist. This means that my cowl will have this permanent curl, it will never lay flat. This shape actually has a name, it’s called a ‘mobius strip’, and it’s a one-sided object. I think it’s pretty neat!

I worked the entire cowl in seed stitch, which makes a lovely, squishy fabric that holds its shape well. I also like that with my number of stitches, I got a faint stripe effect due to the kettle dyed wool.

There were a few inconsistencies in my skein, which you can see above. I guess that is to be expected with hand crafted yarn. I don’t mind it too much, it gives a little character.

I worked until I only had enough yarn to cast off. My cowl is about 28cm wide, and long enough to loop around my head, and fit snuggly against my neck. It’s just starting to get cold here, I can see this cowl getting a lot of use!