All posts

Cowlicious

October 23, 2014

It is very strange how I seem to attach myself to one craft at the expense of another.  I started my working week sewing zipped pouches and it was all I could think about.  However, things didn’t go so smoothly and after unpicking just about every line of sewing that I put down over a few hours, I just knew that I needed to stop and go and do something else, regardless of how much I didn’t want to.

I picked up my knitting instead on Monday afternoon and am now deeply entrenched in it.  Not that the knitting went that smoothly to begin with…  I already had a design idea for a new cowl and the yarn to make it with.  Inspired by the Purl Bee’s trellis scarf (which I’ve already made a sparkly version of with Rowan Kidsilk Haze Eclipse), I was planning on making a cowl in that stitch pattern, using Malabrigo’s Worsted Merino in ‘Simply Taupe’, which I like to simply call: ‘Baileys’, because it’s pretty much the same colour as that delicious beverage.  My plan was to work in the round and I’d already swatched and converted the stitch pattern, so I simply wound the first skein of yarn and got on with it.  Sadly, after working a 4 row edging and 2 pattern repeats of 8 rows each over 300 stitches, I decided that I didn’t like how the stitch pattern was looking – or at least how it would look when worn.  By 6pm, I was ripping it all out…

Purl Bee’s trellis scarf:

Refusing to be cowed by my cowl fail, I started Tuesday in a positive mood and cast on the trellis cowl with straight needles and a provisional cast on.  By yesterday, I was on my second skein and the cowl was over 20 inches long – hurrah!

Now I haven’t given sewing another thought since quitting on Monday, and I’ve told myself that this week can be all about knitting.  Having thus given myself permission to stay in the knit zone, my mind felt free to wander around in it and, hey presto, I have another idea for a new cowl design.

Ever since knitting several stitch block cowls (here’s Emma’s):

(and Joanna’s):

(and Sue’s):

(and Joanne’s):

I was quite taken with the ‘tweed’ brioche stitch pattern from the 3rd section of the cowl and always wanted to use it in another project, but with just one colour, to see how it looked. Here it is from the original Purl Bee cowl design, worked in 3 colours:

Apart from being a pretty stitch in itself, it works up quickly.  For another thing, it creates a kind of airy and light fabric – even using a lovely lofty yarn like Malabrigo Worsted Merino.  So my first thought was: “Hey, why don’t I make a cowl with that one stitch for the whole thing – bet that would look nice”.  Of course, the natural next thought was, which yarn to use, and it didn’t take long to work that out since I love the quality, softness and colour range of Malabrigo Worsted Merino.  Then, which colour to use?  Do I really want to use just one colour?  True, I could use a semi-slid or a variegated to add lots of interest, but was that enough?

Enter another Purl Bee project the Cashmere Ombré Wrap:

Now, I can’t afford the cashmere to make this and the idea of so many rows of seed stitch makes me want to scream, but I love the idea of lots of shades of one colour, so off to the Malabrigo site I went and I decided on a range of beautiful yellows – from creamy to orange shades.  I’ll start with ‘Butter’:

Move on to ‘Pollen’:

Then ‘Cadmium’:

And, finally, I’ll finish with ‘Sunset’ – which is fitting!

Really looking forward to these yarns arriving and starting another cowlicious project – always assuming that my knitting doesn’t go haywire and send me back to the sewing machine 🙂

Cashmere Ombré Wrap.
Cashmere Ombré Wrap
Cashmere Ombré Wrap

You Might Also Like

7 Comments

  • Reply greenrabbitdesigns October 23, 2014 at 9:34 am

    Your stitch block cowls are all wonderful, I especially loved the ‘chocolate’ one but all amazing!
    That’s the thing I find with knitting too you can allow your mind to wander but you just can’t take your mind of the stitching without heading for a disaster. There’s a soothing rhythm to knitting.
    Love the new colours, haven’t they got brilliant names!!
    V x

    • Reply crimson October 23, 2014 at 9:54 am

      Thanks Viv and yes, you’re so right – you can never let your mind entirely off the leash or you will be sorry! Someone on a blog I was reading yesterday was saying that they found fair isle knitting had a relaxing rhythm to it – which I’m taking as a bit of encouragement to make an effort to get to know it a bit better!

      Malabrigo seem to get *just* the right names for these yarns – very clever 🙂 xx

  • Reply Emma October 23, 2014 at 9:48 am

    I love all these Debbie … and I REALLY love the Baileys trellis one you’re working on … just saying

    • Reply crimson October 23, 2014 at 9:55 am

      LOL! And it is much longer by today! Hoping to finish it this week xxx

  • Reply karen October 23, 2014 at 11:36 am

    I do so enjoy cowl knitting and wearing. I especially like the cowls that can be doubled for that extra warmth. Love the bright cheerful colors of the knitting!

    • Reply crimson October 23, 2014 at 1:54 pm

      Thanks Karen 🙂 There are so many variations you can play with in cowl making too, aren’t there? I admit that I’m feeling tempted to trying out some fair isle knitting after seeing your blog entry yesterday. I shy away from colour work in knitting and crochet because I so hate the untidiness of the threads on the reverse that I can never get to behave to my liking – but I think this means I’m missing out on some lovely knitting!

  • Reply Cowlicious II | The Crimson Rabbit November 12, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    […] writing my first Cowlicious post, I’ve finished my Baileys trellis cowl, which I’ve now officially named the: […]

  • Leave a Reply