Moving house

I've decided to move as there are some features in the new house that I like better:

New address

I hope to see you there.

Wen

Push my buttons

I've just found out an easy way to add polls to the blog. So if you click on the heading or comments of any new posts (I haven't added any to the old posts) you can let me know with the click of the mouse what you think by clicking a button. Of course comments are always welcome.

Polls on the main page will vary every so often and are there for fun! Well my fun anyway.

I've also changed the comments method so those that were having problems with blogger should be ok now.

A day in the life....

I've just been reading a few of these on other blogs. The idea is for the 14th of the month a rundown of your day. So here goes. Sorry no photos this time.

6:55am out of bed and get the boys up. Quick shower and breakfast for everybody and off to cricket for Rusty. He attends Wesley College so every saturday morning it is interschool sport. Yesterday they played Carey Baptist Grammar and he managed to score 2 runs.

After dropping him off Monster and I went and bought "Snotgobble and the Bogey Bully" by Michael Broad for Monster to read while I had my eyes tested. (Yes the story line is as Gross and you are thinking but he's a 7yo boy)

The eye test found that my distance glasses were fine, no change there but I now need reading glasses so I had to choose new frames with the help of a 7yo boy - fun. No I don't like bling on my glasses and no , the ones that look funny are not the best choice.

About 10:15 we left those shops and went to another centre about 15 minutes away. We walked in the door just as a very light shower started. 2 minutes later I got a call from the ex saying that Rusty's game had been washed out and could I pick him up.

We went back to the car in heavy rain and drove through flooded roads back to the school watching the outside temp drop from 25 to 18. Rusty was the last to be picked up, the coach had bundled all the boys into his car to wait for their parents as the buildings were too far to run in the rain.

Back to the shops for a new mouse and computer bag, a birthday present for a boy turning 8 and some lunch then home for an afternoon relaxing, doing some knitting while the boys played computer games. Thaw some food from the freezer for dinner and a Skype chat with Eno and Monkey who are in Hobart before bed.

Well that was my day, nothing out of the ordinary, well except for flash flooding, soaked kids and new glasses.

WIP update

I have been working on the following this week:

Wave wrap - half done now. I like the way it is turning out, seems to be wider than the pattern suggested so may need blocking to get a narrower longer wrap. I keep making mistakes with the feather and fan but luckily they are easily fixed.

Shoulder shawl in Syrian pattern - still plodding along. After completing the first ball it looks like it will be too big if I use all 5 so I'm further along than I thought!

Garter stitch wrap - still on target after finishing the 3rd ball. Measurements still show a finished size of approx 51" square.

The mohair bolero is finished I am now working seriously on the Silk cap sleeved top. Almost up to the armholes. I need some new work clothes and this is one that will be good for work.

Now that it is getting colder it is time to put the summer things into hibernation and get cracking on things to keep me warm. This includes the mohair capelet, wide collared jacket and aubergine jumper. Unfortunately the aubergine jumper is in Melbourne so that one will move slowly for the next month or two.

Thanks to Kate who posted that the new Knitty was up I now have 4 more things in my queue. Aeolian shawl, Decimal , Pioneer and Shipwreck.

What a surprise

I got home last night and found that Eno had bought me a skein of undyed mohair. 260g of soft fluffy mohair to play with.

Now to work out what to make with it.

Instant gratification

or enlarging the lace to reduce the repeats...

I like instant gratification. Using large needles may be like writing with a crayon but the speed you can turn out a shawl or scarf certainly makes up for it.

The cathedral windows shawl was designed to be knitted in lace weight and looks fabulous if you can be bothered doing it. Me? I made it with 8ply on 7mm needles.

Birch has 300+ stitches to be cast on in Kid silk haze. I reversed the pattern so I didn't have to cast on and knitted it in mohair twice as thick on 7mm needles.

I'm currently knitting feather and fan on 10mm - I started it on Monday and the stole is now 75cm long.

My purple parallelogram was a delicate little stitch I liked the look of so I knitted it up on 15mm needles.
I love the look of delicate lace but the time commitment is just not there so lace with elephantitis it is!

A cowl for Monkey

004
Originally uploaded by wen1965

What do you do when your 2 year old keeps stealing your cowls to wear? You make him his own. This little cowl was done in 1 night in front of the TV.

Yarn: Naturally magic garden Buttons. less than 1 ball.
Dimensions: 40cm circumference, 18cm height
needles: Options 5.5mm

Cast on 72 stitches, knit to required height, cast off loosely.

Wearing what you make...

The question seems to come up often: How many of your handknits can you wear at one time.

Well it depends on what you make but it is perfectly acceptable to wear multiple handknits at one time without thinking you look like Molly Weasley.

Really no one thinks 'oh how many designer items of clothing can I wear without looking silly' so why do we treat hand knitted items differently.

So in summer you may be wearing a skirt, top and light scarf or a dress and shrug. All of these things can be knitted, however I wouldn't wear a knitted dress and I wouldn't wear a knitted skirt no matter who made it or the designer labels in it.

So in summer I would wear a knitted top and dress up any outfit with a light scarf or shawl.

Winter? On a cold day I would normally wear jeans, socks, shirt, jumper, mitts, coat/wrap cowl/scarf. Out of these items the jeans would always come from a shop, in my case so would the socks (that's another story) all of the other items could be hand knits.

The key is not wearing all machine made and one key item, it is co-ordination. Do the colours go together? What about the textures? Does the whole look like an outfit or that you have raided your wardrobe for every warm thing you own.

Treat your handknits like all your other clothes. It is a matter of does this go with that, not how the item was made.

Shawl fetish?

I was told recently I had a shawl fetish. I had never thought of it that way. I love knitting quick knits and the more pieces the longer it will take to finish so shawls really fit the bill.

Currently OTN I have 3; the Syrian shoulder shawl, a summer weight lace project, Garter stitch Wrap, a thick winter wrap and the Wave wrap, a light bright quick knit on 10mm needles.

I also enjoy wearing shawls, I heard one person describe it as 'wearing a hug', I prefer the thought of wearing a big woolly blanket. Easy to throw on, keeps me warm and I have one for all seasons.

There are so many ways to wear one too, just clipped at the shoulder and worn like a poncho, wrapped tightly around the neck like a scarf, tied at the front to give a deep v neck look...


They go with jeans suits and dresses. What is there not to like about shawls?

I am planning on knitting a lace weight fine lace shawl, I have some casmere merino lace weight ready for the right pattern when I find it.

Shawls above:
Gumleaf shawl (Yarn Magazine), Holly shawl (Jo Sharp), Clapotis (Knitty), modified Birch (Rowan).
My design in Ramie, Cathedral Windows (Yarn Magazine), modified Striped Wrap (Jo Sharp), garter stitch on 15mm needles.

Playing with texture

As I mentioned earlier I went to Sunspun recently. They had a wrap made up in the shop and I bought the kit for it. I started it yesterday. I love the way it is coming together. 3 Colinette yarns all completely different textures but in the same colourway.

I'm knitting stripes of feather and fan, the mohair appears to be almost soft focus between the clear stripes of Giotto and Tagliatelli.

A+ for procrastination

I did it! I did it! I did it! As my 2 year old would say.

I finally finished my Mohair bolero.

The pattern is the bolero version 2 (long sleeved) from Jo Sharp Knit 2. It was designed to be knitted with 8ply cotton but I thought it would look good in mohair. I got some 4ply mohair silk blend from Marta's yarns ( now the Threadroom). When I told the person serving that I would be knitting it on 4mm needles he thought that the needle size was too small for the yarn. It turned out beautifully, just what I wanted to wear over dresses. Certainly not too tight a knit for the beautiful, soft, light yarn.

I started this in October 2007, I had the body and bands finished by March 2008. A year to do the sleeves! I hate sleeves. I don't know why but I just hate knitting sleeves; hence the procrastination. I knitted a lot of things while this sat waiting to be finished. I misplaced the pattern a couple of times, ended up with the knitting in one city and the pattern in another. Everything that could prevent me finishing it seemed to happen. Maybe it has something to do with this being the last thing that Mum saw me knitting and she doesn't like black so she hated it. I promise I will wear it with colours.

Anyway it is done now with photos to prove it!

Yarn: Marta's yarns Brushed 4ply mohair silk

Needles: Harmony 4mm

Modifications: band is only 4cm wide.

Checking photos of FO's

I've just spent half an hour going through the pictures of Boatneck Bluebell in Ravelry. (If you're not a member you can do this in Flickr or other photo sites)

I learnt the following that is not in the pattern:

• Don't start the bands for the top of the waist shaping until you have tried it on and it comes below your bra band. The people with long bodies who followed the pattern ended up starting the waist shaping way to high and it looks wrong like a corset that sits to high.
• Don't start the waist ribbing at your waist; the waist is supposed to be at the centre of the ribbing.
• Finish the ribbed section around your hips but make sure your waist is in the middle of it.
• The bands on the arm should be just above the elbow, again try it on and the bottom band on the ribbed section just below your elbow.
• The flare at the bottom looks good longer rather than shorter. Don't finish without trying it on to check the proportions.

Overall try it on whenever you are changing patterns. That way you will know whether you are at the right spot.

Now to try and put all this knowledge into practice.

That's it for Feb

Well February is over and what have I done?

Nothing. Well nothing I planned to do. The pattern for my mohair bolero was in Melbourne while the project was in Hobart so that didn't happen.

The summer tops are still progressing, nothing completed there either.

I finished the 3rd ball on the garter stitch wrap so that is still going to plan (finished by 31/12/2009)

I ripped out a jumper I started 12 months ago. It was a Jo Sharp pattern and very boxy. I hadn't got far with it; it was left in a box most of the year. It is now going to be boatneck bluebell from Fitted Knits although it is in a dark multicoloured merino, colourway is Aubergine and an 8ply. So I am modifying the pattern to fit.

The 3 skeins are all different shades as it is handdyed so I have to use all 3 all the way through.

The photo of the knitting was taken under flash; it isn't that bright in daylight.

As mentioned previously I did finish the bushland scarf and I made cowl with the leftovers.

So the plan for March. Take the pattern back to Hobart and finally finish the bolero. Continue working on the other stuff and try to get at least 2 things finished.

Where is the time going...

Not much to report really.

In the past couple of weeks I haven't done much knitting. A few rows on my sheer poncho (finished the shoulder shaping), garter stitch wrap (almost 3 balls down out of 20) and Tantric puzzle top (25% done). That's about it.

Stash additions: 1 ball of Jo Sharp Silk road Aran that I picked up half price.

Hopefully things will pick up again now that the fires are getting under control and I'm not so worried about friends family and my house.

Using up the scraps to keep warm

No project uses an exact number of balls so there is always half a ball or less left over. I have started making small scarflets and smidges out of these leftovers. Smidges cowls and neckwarmers are great when wearing a coat they add warmth to the neck without adding the bulk of a scarf.

Triangular smidge.

Yarn: About 20g of 12 ply mohair.

Using an 8mm needle

Cast on 1
Kfb
K1 yo k1
k1 yo knit yo k1 on every row
cast off loosely.






Lace stripe cowl

Yarn:
About 10g of Touch yarns Alpine brushed mohair (A)
About 5g of Anny Blatt Fine Kid (B)

Needles: 8mm

Pattern:

Cast on 31 stitches with yarn A
*knit 4 rows
change to yarn B
knit 1 row
next 6 rows: k1 (yo k2tog) 15 times
knit one row
change to yarn A

repeat from * 4 times.

knit 4 row
cast off loosely.


Sew in all ends.
Sew cast on and cast off ends together.

These patterns can be adapted to any yarns; just have fun and play with shapes!

Another scarf done

The bushland scarf is now finished.

I mentioned when I bought the wools for this that I had a scarf I never wore.

The photo to the right is the original scarf, it was too pale and too, well, yellow for me.

When combined with dark green 12ply mohair and and Anny Blatt Fine kid (colourway Foret) this is the result:

It is thick and squishy and the boys love it.

A week of worry

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. The wind was high as I drove home from a friend's house where I had stayed on Friday night. Around lunchtime checking the CFA site for incident reports was not enough and we started streaming the local Government radio station to keep up with the news. This station suspends normal broadcasting to become emergency services radio whenever there is a high risk fire day.

We were away from the fires and they were moving South West, the closest fire was not that far away but not moving in our direction so it was ok.

We live in the hills outside Melbourne, it is a beautiful place to live. The risk of living in the bush doesn't come home to you until a day like saturday where walking out the front door was as hot as walking into a sauna. You are at the mercy of the elements, will the wind change? Will the fire then move towards you?

We left on Saturday just as the wind changed. As we drove into Melbourne the reports said that electricity had been cut in our area. As we drove the sky had a yellow tinge and the whole valley was covered with a thin veil of smoke. The wind had moved to the south and the temperature had dropped more than 10 degrees. This is the time when fighting fires is the most dangerous.

We were on our way to Tasmania for my work. We had to leave the house so the fight or flee choice was not ours to make.

The fires that are closest to our house are still burning. They are now moving North into the Yarra Valley. Friends in the next town 3km closer to the fire have noticed their neighbours leaving, everyone is worried and won't even go to the shops without the dogs just in case.

I'm glad to be safe in another state but at the same time I wonder whether it would be better to be home and know what is going on. In this case it is definitely a matter of no news is good news.

We are very lucky we are all safe and our area hasn't been hit, the worry certainly does take its toll though.

WIP update

I have just updated Ravelry and decided it was time for another WIP update.

Lacy wool scarf

This is my "waiting scarf" it tends to live in the car and get picked up when I am waiting for anything. The wool is handspun and hand dyed 5ply. I got it from the Sustainable living market at Gembrook.

The pattern is from a Jo Sharp pattern for a wide cotton scarf , I reduced the width of it so I would get a good length.

I started this in November 2007 and I have completed about 2/3 of it. I haven't touched this for a while as it has spent most of last year at Tullamarine airport long term carpark.





Entrelac Scarf

This scarf is another that has been in progress for a long time. I bought the Rowan Tapestry to make Clapotis and ended up having twice as much as I needed. As this wool soy blend is self striping I have a striped shawl so I wanted something different with the rest. I love the way the entrelac works with self striping wool, each square is a slightly different colour to the one before.




Blueberry capelet

I had this 12ply Stokesay mohair in my stash for about a year before deciding what to do with it. I previously made the top down capelet from Wrap Style in Autumn colours and I really love it however I made the middle size and the finished garment is quite wide.

This time I decided to make the small size to get a closer fit. I didn't count on picking up the wrong needle however and accidently started this on a 7mm when I thought I was using an 8mm. After a few inches I measured my tension and found I was knitting at 14 st/10cm instead of 12 st/10cm that I thought I should be getting.
As a result I needed to add a couple more increases to get a good fit around the body. The result is a high close fitting neck and a capelet that fits nicely and will be very warm for the coming winter.

I have knitted 2 of the 4 balls I have for this capelet.

Don't walk into a wool shop unless you intend to buy...

I went to a local wool shop today with the intention of getting a couple of knit picks cables. Nothing else. My resolve was strong. The knitpicks order hadn't come in so she didn't have what I wanted. I had a quick look around and walked out empty handed.

However I wanted to get the cables before going to Tasmania on the weekend so we got in the car and drove down to Sunspun. They had what I wanted which was good. They also stock some of my favourite brands, Rowan, Colinette, Jo Sharp, Noro.

I was doing well, I only picked up one skein of Colinette Parisienne, but then Eno said 'Get 2 that way you can make a wrap thingy'. I then noticed a feather and fan wrap. The lady serving told me it was Colinette and it came as a kit with the pattern. In the meantime Eno had walked to the front of the shop and picked up a skein of sockwool he called me over to look at the colour. It was the same colourway as the shawl kit that I was looking at.

So the outcome of my trip to get 2 60cm cables:
2 knitpicks 60cm cables - Yay I got what I went for.
2 skeins of Parisienne in Jay - no pattern in mind as yet.
1 skein Giotto, 1 Mohair and 1 Taglietelli in October Afternoon with pattern.
1 pair of 10cm Options tips (to knit the wrap)

Simple stitch markers to make

I have found that using a bit of wool as a stitch marker can be frustrating as it can get caught up in the stitches. I got some metal ones free with a magazine and I found these really good. I have 4 of these blue stars but with lots of WIPS and the majority either in the round or shawls I found I needed more.




Today I decided to see what I could make. I have a friend who had made some from jewellery supplies at Lincraft. I went to Art and Craft Riot to see what was available.

I got some 2"brass eye pins and some beads,





threaded the beads onto the pins



Bent the pin around a 7mm metal knitting needle (you can do this by hand no tools required).



and hey presto stitch markers.

These markers are useful for any needle up to a 6.5mm. When I need bigger ones I will just use a bigger knitting needle to bend the pin.

My inheritance from Gran

Gran was born in 1857 and died in 1956. I recently received her crochet hooks from my father when he was cleaning things out. She had sizes 6 1/2 - 1. (Note: I don't know the accuracy of this site, it appears to be from the US and Gran's needles are from the UK but it gives you an idea of how small they are.

I love having these hooks, I doubt I will ever use them but worth keeping.
Notice the engraving in the handle in the photo on the left.

The thread in the corner of the photo below is Kid Silk Haze.

A different way of knitting in the round - only 2 needles!

Last week I decided to make a phone sock - I am so sick of not being able to find my black phone in my black bag.

I wanted it to be easy to make and seam free. I did have to rip it out and remake it once as I wasn't sure of what I was doing initially.

Here is the final pattern. My phone is a very small Nokia Classic (no flip or slide opening)

Phone sock
Note: you will be making this up inside out.

Finished Size 4cm x 10.5cm
Yarn Cleckheaton 100% bamboo
tension: 28st to 10cm

Cast on 20 stitches
Every row: k1 sl1 keeping the yarn at the back at all times.

Repeat this row until sock is 10cm long ensuring the first stitch is knitted tightly on each row. Make sure you have completed an even number of rows.
Top band
Separate your stitches onto 2 dpns.
Starting with the back stitches:
Cast on 3 stitches.
K2 k2tog turn
P3
repeat these 2 rows until only 3 stitches remaining.
Cast off.

Sew in ends.

Another week gone

This week has been a starting week. No finishing, just finding things I just have to have....

New project 1. As I mentioned earlier in the week I had an urge to cast on last weekend. On saturday I flipped through Victorian Lace Today to find a project. I decided to start the Shoulder Shawl in Syrian pattern.

A search through the stash and I decided on some 4ply Cleckheaton 100% bamboo.

New Project 2: Sunday night I had to fly to Hobart (again). After struggling to find my black phone in my black bag I noticed a woman who had her ipod in a machine knitted ipod sock. I realised that would solve my problem so I have also started a little phone sock using a new technique I believe is called double knitting. On every row you knit (or purl) one stitch then slip the next. This enables you to knit a pocket without using 4 needles. I don't have a photo yet but it won't be long until it is finished.


New Project 3: The weather here in Victorian is unbearably hot this week (44c/111F yesterday) so I was looking for patterns on Ravelry rather than knitting this morning until I came across the Tantric Puzzle top. I had to start this summer pattern straight away as it is an interesting construction and a simple quick knit that would suit most body shapes. Back to the stash for some Bendigo Harmony in a beautiful pale wisteria that I have had for about 6 years. This yarn is now discontinued but it was 30% wool, 70% cotton with a tiny bit of lycra.

I also managed a few inches of my Silk Cap sleeved top this week, I love knitting with silk but being cream I don't want to pick it up with the kids around or when my hands are likely to get sweaty.

I should have progress photos available next week to share.

Silky bliss

For Christmas 2007 Rusty and Monster went to one of my local wool shops and bought me 7 skeins of Pure Silk by Debbie Bliss and the pattern book to go with it. I chose the pattern immediately and knitted up the first ball. I had a lot of things on the go so I put it away as it would be for ‘next summer’. Well next summer is here and it is not finished. (Mainly because it was in a box of WIPs in Melbourne and I was in Hobart most of the year). I have finally picked it up again and started knitting.
This yarn is heaven to knit with. It is smooth and well, silky, it glides beautifully through my fingers and along my Options needles. So what is the problem?
I picked up some bamboo knitting I am also doing; it feels coarse through my hands. This yarn has ruined cheap and cheerful yarns for me. Even my mohair wool scarf with Touch Mohair, Anny Blatt Fine Kid and handspun wool/mohair doesn’t have that same soft squishy quality anymore.
Is this a new addiction? Will I ever be able to go back to yarns I can afford? How will my budget cope? Did the boys realise how much they were spoiling me?
Of course being silk it will grow when washed the first time and some of the sheen will come off it; that is the nature of silk. Maybe I won’t love it so much then…

Casting on compulsion

I currently have 12 projects on the go. So why do I feel the need to cast on? I want something different I want something new I want to try new things.

This has come about because last week I frogged one project and finished 2 others, Really if I think about it I have a WIP for all occasions:

Summer things:
Cap sleeved top, this has a lace and cable panel front and back and I'm knitting it in the round.
Sheer poncho - a good lace weight summer cover up that is simple stocking stitch.
Bolero - beautiful soft mohair/silk just one sleeve to finish

Winter things:
Wide collared jacket - a heavy winter jacket with a wide ribbed collar, this one is slightly flaired at the bottom and quite long.
Fluted ribs - a capelet knitted sideways using short rows for shaping.
Garter stitch wrap - 4 large garter stitch triangles sewn together to make a wrap that drapes beautifully.
Blueberry capelet - quick knit top down capelet in 12ply mohair on 7mm needles.
Classic jumper - knitting this in handyed 8ply, each of the 3 skeins was slightly different so knitting from all 3 skeins; 1 row of each.

Scarves
Entrlac scarf - I'm using self striping wool so each square ends up different to the previous one; fun to knit and watch the colours develop. Knitting the purl rows backward on this one so I don't have to turn the work every 8 stitches
Lace scarf - Simple lace pattern, pretty variegated 5ply.
Bushland scarf - Big needles, ribbed pattern multiple strands.

Other:
Log Cabin - modular knitting with strips in different colours knitted on to the edges of what has been done.

So I have knitting on needles from 3.5mm to 10mm, I have simple garter and stocking stitch, I have lace, cables, entrelac and short row shaping. I have wool, mohair, silk , I have lace weight through to bulky. I have things that don't need shaping and things that have extensive shaping. I have thing on the go that are to wear now and ones to wear in 6 months time.

I don't need to start anything new - but I really want to...

What a week!

Well what has happened this week:

• I found my needle gauges. 2 of my projects were on unexpected needle sizes both look good anyway. Proves that tension is more important than needle size and I can tell from the look of the knitting whether the tension is 'right' or not. Who needs a ruler?
  
• Vixen was finished, named and worn. I have had some great feedback including the suggestion to create a beaded version. I have never worked with beads so that is something to consider.
• I found this skein of beautiful hand dyed purple 4ply to stash for a shawl or lace cowl.
• I did some more of the dreaded final sleeve of the mohair bolero. I will finish it, I will finish it, I will fin...
  
• I completed a fair bit of a simple top down capelet in 12ply mohair. Found out that the needle I am using for this is a 7mm not an 8mm. No wonder the tension was tighter than I expected, I was wondering why I was getting a 7mm tension on an 8mm needle. Fits well and looks good.
• Still plodding along on my garter stitch wrap.
• Soleil: It is now finished and washed. I have had some great feedback on Ravelry on this top, both the colour and design so it was obviously a good choice for me.
• I'm almost done with the shoulder increases on my sheer poncho; once they are complete then it is just an increase every 10 rows or so and miles and miles of stocking stitch.
  

I do tend to get a fair bit done when I'm all alone in Hobart...maybe I should get a life! Anyway going home tonight, I get to spend 3 whole days with the family before another 3 day work trip!

YAY Soleil is finished

Soleil has been a collection of errors from the start.
· I was sure I picked up a 4mm circular needle; it was a 3.75mm.
· I forgot the last side increase
· I added an extra inch between the waist and the armhole.
· I knitted the first half of the front 4 rows short and had to undo the cast off and add more length.
So what was the final result of all these mistakes after all my planning to ensure this fitted?
My tension was spot on for the gauge of the pattern.
The length from waist to bust is correct.
The width of the garment is good, I like a tight fit especially with cotton as it tends to grow a bit as it gets older.
Don’t you love how forgiving a knitted fabric is?

Soleil
Yarn: Bendigo 8ply cotton – 1 200g hank (480m) I have nearly 50g left over.
Needles: 3.75mm Aero circular.
Measurements:
Waist 26”
Bust 34”
Length. 21”

named

The summer cowl is now called VIXEN COLLAR.

Eno named it Vixen as he was imagining it worn without much else.

Summer cowl

025
Originally uploaded by wen1965

The summer cowl is finished and as promised here is the pattern (well as much of a pattern as you are going to get).

Cast on 80 stitcheson a 4.5mm circular needle
Join into a round (pm)
knit 1 round
Purl 1 round
Round 3: (K5 yo) 16 times. (96 stitches)

All even rounds: (k2 tog tbl k2, k1fb,k1) 16 times
All odd rounds: knit.

until cowl measures approx 12 cm (5”)

on the next odd round, )k4 drop next stitch, pick up bar and knit it) 16 times.

(k 4 k2tog) 16 times (80 stitches)
purl 1 row
knit 1 row
cast off.

Drop all stitches if they haven't unravelled already.
Sew in ends.

Final measurements:
Diameter base: 50cm
Diameter top: 48cm - I cast off a little too tightly.
Height 12cm.

This used about half a ball of Stella.

Textured cowl pattern.

I was bored one day and decided I wanted a new cowl. I had a ball of Cleckheaton Studio Mohair to play with.

This is the pattern I came up with:

Tension: 20 st and 28 rows in stocking stitch on a 4.5 mm needle.
Tension is not vital however the cowl is designed to have a circumference of approx 50cm.

Cast on 99 stitches.
Join being careful not to twist and place marker for the end of round.
Edge: 3 rounds garter stitch. (knit 1 row, purl 1 row, knit 1 row)
Pattern: k3 k2 tog yo until desired length reached remembering to slip marker at the end of each row.
3 rows garter stitch
cast off loosely.

Note: the number of stitches in each round is not a multiple of the pattern, each row you will end up on a different stitch in the pattern when you slip the marker. Be careful to ensure the yo are on the correct side of the marker when slipping it. This is what gives the pattern it's diagonal appearance.