It's the end of summer. Here in the midwest that means that Mother Nature is giving us one last heat wave before she takes a bit of a break and offers us cooler temps. But for now, a knitter must still choose her projects wisely because the 90 degree heat and high humidity could give us a sweaty lap if we choose a large project. So it's definitely cowl knitting time.
Cowls are a perfect project to knit up that single skein of hand dyed yarn that you bought because you couldn't resist it, but now know that it might not hold up well for socks, or it's just too beautiful to knit into something like socks that won't be seen. A cowl will be seen an appreciated all fall and winter long. That's a lot of bang for your time and buck.
Heather, SSYC's shop manager, recently brought in a bunch of her cowls that she finished. Since you can't come in and see them in person til this COVID crisis is handled, we wanted to show them all off here. If you're knitting in a temp that's way to warm to start a bigger shawl, or perhaps you want to get started on your holiday gift knits, maybe one of these is for you.
This is the Midsummer Haze by Joji Locatelli. Heather used one skein of Flock Fibre's Lone Pine Singles in the Antique Shop colorway. Heather mentioned that she wasn't sure that she was going to do the tassels but ended up liking the look. I like that they are still a bit wave from being in the center of the ball. I think it's a cool look, though once you soaked and blocked it, those would straighten out. If you wanted to try another imported dyer, Qing's Singles would be lovely, as would the tones of Life in the Long Grass Singles.
This is the Valanar Cowl by Elena Noel. She used Malabrigo Rios (worsted weight, two skeins) in Vaa. This is for her husband who I believe wanted something to keep his neck warm when he was outside. So many coats leave that V at the neckline all exposed, right? The designer details that it was made for her outdoorsy husband to his exact specs. I was thinking it would be a great cowl to put up over your face for extra projection when needed. Isn't it beautiful?
This is the the Starshower cowl in Swift Singles color Discography. A really nice charcoal with bits of bright color that will go with so much. We don't have this color right now b/c the dyer is taking a break during the pandemic, but a lot of dyers do charcoal with bits of color and you can get a nice effect with colors like Night Hawk, Constellation, Mandala, and Seance.
Want some luxury? How about knitting up some Pashmina (this is Dr Zhivago's Sky) into a Zuzu's Petals. What person wouldn't want to receive a holiday gift with a bit of cashmere AND silk?
For those of you who want something stripy, Rachael knit up this simple cowl and her simple pattern is detailed in the notes of her project page. She used Urth Yarn's Uneek Worsted in color 4024. I think this is a perfect project for someone you know that likes a bit of color, but just wants a simple design to put on. It's a super gift idea for all ages. And it's simple enough that it can be your on-the-go project, one that you can just carry around and tink away when you have a few minutes.
I hope this gives you a few ideas on what to knit right now. For me, I've tried knitting a bit of a patterned sock, tore it out and am just doing some simple footies in a yarn that I'll share more about tomorrow. Apparently my mind can't handle anything more right now!
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