Strawberry Fields Forever Cowl

It's the first week of March and I am very pleased to announce I have an FO! After over a month of picking up and putting down (and picking up and putting down), I have finally finished my Strawberry Fields Forever Cowl! This is an original pattern that I improvised as I went along. I love how the tops and bottoms curl in slightly and how nicely this bunches when worn.

Gauge: (after blocking) 5 stockinette stitches = 1"; 7 rows = 1"

Piece Measurements: 14" x 12.25" at bottom of piece; 14" x 11" at top of piece

Even Beau wanted to be pictured with this cowl...

The Pattern: CO 114 stitches with size 8 DPNs and worsted weight yarn (you can use use this to determine your gauge if you change your needle/yarn size). I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

Row 1-6: With contrast color ("CC"-- brown in my case) join in the round and knit (this creates stockinette stitch).

NOTE: After this beginning portion, you will knit both MC and CC together at the beginning (and only at the beginning) of every round. This creates a faux seam (shown in picture 3 above) and is an easy way to carry the colors up the side of your piece so you never have to break the yarn!

Row 7-18: With both colors, knit the first stitch of the round. Continue to knit with only the main color ("MC"-- pink in my case).

Row 19-22: Start beginning of round by knitting both MC and CC together. Knit rest of rounds with CC.

Repeat rows 7-18 and rows 19-22 about 4 times (or for desired length).

At beginning of final MC portion *knit 10, K2tog*. Repeat this decrease every other round for 12 rounds.

NOTE: Decreases don't have to be exact, work as many of as few as you would like for desired top width (I went from 12.25" to 11").

Once your 12 rounds of MC are complete, drop MC and weave in ends. Knit with CC (do not create faux seam) for 6 rounds. BO loosely and weave in all ends. Block piece.


Ravelry page found here. Like this piece? Try it out for yourself and post photos below! :)

This could be dangerous...

Over the weekend I visited my first ever specialty yarn and fabric store, and I have to say.. my wallet is in trouble I'm in love! The store is Stitch Your Art Out and located just outside of State College, PA. I found the store through facebook and finally decided to go check it out. The yarn selection was beautiful, although the store was fairly small, there was such an array of yarn weights and materials... I have a feeling this will be my new shop for knitting projects-- buhbye Walmart and JoAnn! (And buhbye all my money!)

I've started a new cowl (yes-- another cowl) with these two Berroco yarns. I'll post some photos once I get a little further along with it!



Finished Chevron Cowl

Just in time for this windy and sub-zero February is my knitted Chevron cowl! It's knit on a reverse stockinette with two worsted weights knitted together (cream and stone) alternating with a bulky sky blue Lion Brand yarn. Because this is so thick it knitted up really easily, and I especially love how you can see the zig zag pattern on the light blue portions.

Here's a few close-ups...

Right Side...

...Wrong Side

Overall this was a fun knit, the pattern is a 6 row repeat so you'll never get bored-- and alternating colors adds a nice twist! Instead of breaking the yarn when changing colors I just carried the spare yarn up the side of the work which turned out great! The pattern for this cowl can be found here :) I repeated the 6 rows 4 times and then changed colors. Enjoy!

First Project of 2013!

Combining the two yarns...

Now that I've gotten back to school, purchased all my texts books, gone to my first week of class and (reluctantly) started homework, I'm finally ready to start my first project of 2013. Since being back at school it has already snowed/hailed/rained several times and has reminded me that I am in need of another comfy scarf. Because I'm a poor college student  Because I want to try using my stash yarn before buying anything new, I'm gonna to try a combo of three different skeins...  worsted weight in cream, worsted weight in stone, and a chunky powder blue. To off set the weight of the chunky yarn i'm going to knit with the cream and stone together to get a comparable width. Below are some pictures of my beginning work. The stitch I am using is called the "Chevron Stitch" (on reverse stockinette). 

Anddd color change!

 The Chevron stitch creates a nice subtle horizontal zigzag using reverse stockinette that I think looks great on large pieces (scarves, hats, blankets).  Below are the instructions on how to create this same chevron stitch (note: for the color change, I carried the alternate yarn up the right side of the work instead of breaking the yarn).

Chevron Stitch:

Row 1 (RS): K5, *P1, K5; rep from * to end.

Row 2: K1, *P3, K3; rep from * to last 4 stitches, P3, K1.
Row 3: P2, *K1, P2; rep from * to end.
Row 4: P1, *K3, P3; rep from * to last 4 stitches, K3, P1.
Row 5: K2, *P1, K5; rep from * to last 3 stitches, P1, K2.
Row 6: Purl all stitches.

Repeat rows 1-6 for the length of your piece :)