Posted in knitting, Living Life Well

Friday Finish – A New View

Today I will comment on two subjects – fiber first. You see my latest knitted finish. This cowl is designed by Nat Raedwulf, of Wolf and Faun Knits. I chose this for a travel project that exploits the virtues of slipped stitch patterns. She says “the slipped stitch colourwork creates a dense fabric, perfect for keeping one warm…”

I say “Ditto.” It is worked in a soft yarn that is equal parts alpaca, wool and acrylic. (Knitpicks Upcycle Alpaca Blend. I would link you to the yarn on KP site but it appears to be discontinued.) Rivers and Ravens Cowl sits lightly upon the shoulders. I notice some scratchiness, so will wear it over outerwear, such as a jacket or coat.

Now about the view: Our new home is built into a bluff that is at the highest point in the neighborhood. The upper level deck wraps around three sides of the house, yielding a panoramic view. It is simply stunning, especially at sunset. During the past few days, Bill and his camera are rarely indoors. The following photos are mine.

Rooftops and sky. This view extends from the northwest to the northeast sky.

In between opening boxes, we have been getting to know the neighbors and our new town. Dubuque, Iowa is a town just under 60,000 that supports numerous cultural organizations, abundant parks, good libraries and a revitalized downtown along the Mississippi river. We are slowly exploring. Last Sunday it was the Arboretum – I’ll likely have a post about it soon.

My creative projects have been on hiatus too long. Now that my materials are unpacked, I hope to pick up on unfinished works and also begin something new.

Thanks for reading.

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish: Adult Balaclava

Here is a follow-up on one of my recent stash-busting projects. My first balaclava was for grand-daughter Lu and was ALL stash-buster.

https://dailyfiberfun.com/2023/08/18/friday-finish-child-balaclava/

This version actually required new yarn. My daughter wanted one, and her color requirements were vastly different from her daughter’s (no surprise there.)

It is a pure coincidence that the colors my daughter chose are nearly identical to the ones used by designer Gretchen Tracy in her pattern post on Ravelry.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kids-dice-check-balaclava

If you would really like to make yourself one of these cold-busting head coverings, I recommend that you knit the child’s version first. For the adult version, I made at least three modifications that will adjust the size. My number of cast-on stitches and my gauge were the same as the pattern. I lengthened the rectangular crown piece to 7 and 1/2 inches and the length before joining in the round to 10 inches, (center of head to chin.) I also made the neck section and cast-off ribbing longer, but you can try the piece on while in process to get the neck edge to your liking.

The gold yarn is Malabrigo Rios. The white is KnitPicks Hawthorne DK in bare and Swish DK in rainforest heather.

Posted in colorwork, knitting

Cast-on Monday: By Request

Last week my yarn order from Knitpicks arrived, so I cast on the balaclava requested by my daughter. But before that, I sent her photos of several color options.

She chose:

Gold Rios by Malabrigo, natural Hawthorne and RainForest Heather Stroll by Knitpicks.

It’s a bold choice but not surprising selection.

Here you see the Dice check colorwork design that Gretchen Tracey used in her pattern. It’s a simple slip-stitch – one worked in three colors over six rows.

Interesting construction – the piece starts out with an odd-looking rectangle that forms the crown. Stitches are then picked up on the two long-edges, with the live stitches carrying on down the center back.

At this point, the piece reminds me of a horse-shoe crab. Strange to think of wearing a crab on one’s head. But I have faith that it will sort itself out and look more like a helmet when finished.

I’m modifying this Kid’s Balaclava pattern to fit an adult. There will be a bit of suspense as to whether my changes will be enough to give a good fit. On the plus side, it knits up so quickly I won’t be too distressed if I have to frog it back.

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish – More Socks

As of today, the completion rate on my sock challenge is 75%. Newly added to the sock pile is a pair I am calling Dots and Dashes.

This is the largest pair of the challenge, with a foot length of 10 1/2 inches. I used 100% natural wool in two colors and a pattern from Berroco called Fairlee. I would rate the skill level for this pattern as intermediate, which matches the rating assigned by the Berroco designer. They are described as slipper socks – I’m assuming that’s due to the fact they are written for dk weight yarn.

Modifications that I made include the two-color pattern on the foot, which came from Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns. It’s in Chapter Four, Two-Stitch Check, version 1.

The second modification is the bind-off. The pattern calls for a sewn tubular bind-off. That looked like a hassle to me, so I worked Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind-off for one-by-one rib instead.

You can find the original Berroco pattern on Ravelry, or visit my post dated October 3rd for the embedded link.

One more to go. I had to order some needles, so I won’t be casting-on the last pair yet. Tune in on Monday to see what goes on my needles next.

Posted in knitting

Finished Object Friday: Cozzy Cusco Kimono

My goal was to make a loose and decorative wrap and this project is just that. It is a mash-up of two patterns. I used the slip stitch chart from Cozzy Shawl…..

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cozzy-shawl

……….and the shaping instructions from Cusco, by Cheryl Oberle

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cusco

The result is a garment unlike either of them. I threw in a few random stripe sections and eyelet rows. I also cast on way more stitches than the Cusco pattern called for to create more length.

An unplanned bonus was doing the photo shoot in the snow.

I’m really happy with both yarns I chose. The periwinkle is Rowan Felted Tweed. (and did you know that periwinkle is a Pantone color of the year for 2022?!) The variegated yarn is a discontinued one – I can’t even remember its name. But if you make this with the Rowan yarn, choose any variegated yarn that is a sport weight or dense fingering weight to match the gauge.

While I enjoyed standing in the snow (briefly) I fervently hope that today’s is the last snowfall of the 2021-22 winter – even though the end of winter means putting away all my lovely woolens until next fall.