Sideways Garter Cowl (pattern)

Super simple garter stitch cowl is knit flat and seamed end to end. Makes an excellent war warmer, neck cozy, convertible hat, and fashion statement!

Sideways Garter Cowl

Once upon a time, a special person bought me a very small, very expensive skein of yarn. It was natural brown qiviut, the under-fur of a musk ox. I tried to make this tiny, expensive amount of yarn into several different things, but none of them were special enough. I wanted to be able to feel the softness of the yarn, to admire the color, to show the fuzz. Finally, I realized garter stitch was my best friend. But I only had 50 grams. So I knit 50 grams worth of garter stitch, sewed it end to end, and I have since worn it in all weather, out running, around my head and around my neck, at Ultimate Frisbee games, all the time. It’s stylish and simple and people always ask where I got it. So. Achievement unlocked.

Yarn: 50 grams of any lace weight (doubled) or fingering weight yarn. You can also do this cowl, slightly modified for size, in DK, worsted, or bulky. Frankly, you can do this cowl any way you like. You can do it with your eyes closed. You can do it upside-down. But it looks super stylish when you’re done, so you might as well.

I used Folknits Regular Qiviuq Laceweight, Malabrigo Lace, and Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace for the various cowls I’ve knit. The Qiviuq I used as one strand, the others I doubled. One skein (50g) will do, as you’re knitting as long as you please.

Needles: US 4 for the laceweight, US 5 for fingering weight, larger needles for thicker yarn.

Gauge is not important.

Cast on 60 stitches.
Knit every row for 20 inches, or until the cowl, folded, will wrap comfortable around your neck/head/lower face.
Pick up all stitches along the cast on edge, hopefully equal to the number of live stitches on the needle.  Sew live stitches to picked up stitches to make the cowl round.  This method works much better than a) binding off the live stitches and THEN sewing them or b) using a three needle bind off, because it lets the cowl stay stretchy.

Instant fashion icon. Knit them for all your friends.

i have been remiss

in posting for months and months, and I am sorry! Life’s been absurdly busy, and while I’ve kept knitting I haven’t done a good job at all documenting and taking pictures since my last post.

I spent the summer taking an Anatomy class at JHU and working as a lifeguard at the YMCA. My aunt had a baby and I knit her a perfectly splendid BSJ.

I knit some other things to, but again with the picture fail.

At the end of the summer I flew off to Ireland for my Junior semester abroad, which is where I am at the moment. Here I am, September 1st, just off the plane in Dublin and seriously jetlagged. That around my neck is the Gail (Nightsongs) shawl, miniaturized.

I went to the Aran Islands before classes began and knit my dad a truly Aran hat for his birthday.

The academics are not terribly challenging here, so I’ve been doing a lot of writing and a modicum of knitting. Several of the projects I brought stalled out when I realized I’d managed to come to Ireland without enough yarn (shocking!) to finish them.

But, that’s my life. I’m not really up on knitting blogs, either, having dropped behind tremendously when I stopped reading my Google reader every day, but I am still reading, slowly, about a month behind.

I hope you’re all well! ❤

OH! Also yesterday I was walking about Dublin and I spotted a woman wearing a Clapotis. It was tremendously exciting, but she was gone before I could say something. /o\ Knitting secret handshake! Why must you fail me?!

Two Pair (and I’m almost done)

It’s almost May!  Hooray!  In one day, I will be finished with my classes.  I’m on the edge of finishing this last paper, which is due tomorrow.  Then I have two weeks of finals, in which time I need to achieve one (1) fiction portfolio, one (1) Irish Social History exam, and one (1) organic chemistry exam.

In the meantime.

Bricker Lady Slipper
(pattern)
March 31 to April 16, 2010.
Knit Me Now sock yarn in “Lady Slipper.”
US 2s.

They’re great. Squishy and easy and happy. This pattern was so easy to work with, easy to memorize, and easy to knit! And fun! It kept me busy in class, where I couldn’t focus on more than a knit/purl combination most of the time. They were perfect.

Today I finished my Vipers.

Viper Pilot
(pattern)
January 20 to April 29, 2010.
Neota Zephyr in “Purple Mountain Majesty,” which I bought in Estes Park, CO, on our road trip this year. The yarn was very thin, and dark, so it was tough to knit them when they didn’t have my full concentration. Nonetheless, I love these socks.

York and Lancaster

DSCN5357

Originally uploaded by spacekittyknits.

I love these socks. Begun January 4th, finished March 30th (technically 31st, I suppose). I bought the kit (by the Tsock Tsarina) in October at Rhinebeck, and they have been a joy.

I knit them partway together, but decided eventually that it was too much trouble to try to knit the roses into the fabric. They were ugly and stretched when the sock was stretched, and I needed some other method. So I knit the socks (top down, opposite from the pattern) with only the panels for the roses and not the roses themselves. Then, once both socks were finished, I duplicate stitched the roses on.

It worked perfectly!

Hooray!

Snow Day!

DSCN5284

Originally uploaded by spacekittyknits.

I finished M’s scarf just in time for the snowpocalypose to hit the eastern seaboard and the Philadelphia area. She was very cozy.

This is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s “One Row” scarf, knit in Malabrigo worsted in “Amoroso.” I used two skeins. I tried to also make M some Fetchings to go along, but I didn’t have enough yarn for both. Either I got a gigantically long scarf, or a shortish scarf + mittens. M chose gigantor scarf.

There’s a dude skiing outside my window.

JFC

It’s been six and a half million years since I was here. Dinosaurs literally walked the earth last time I posted. Okay.

Last time you saw me, I was at Rhinebeck in October. What.

November
I wrote a novel: ongoing! Original goal of National Novel Writing Month is 50,000 words in 30 days. I have 90,000 now, after 3 months. It’s almost done. Sort of.

I finished Juno for my grandmother for Christmas.

10/21/09-11/13/09, Juno Regina in JL Yarn Vinca. Pink! Lauretta loved it. Blocked it on my shiny new blocking wires which were a fabulous birthday gift from my mum. ❤

I finished my Clover socks.

Clover by Kate Blackburn, fun to knit, in my handdyed in a “gradient” that was actually just kind of mostly purple. Brand! New! Picture! I blame my lightless dorm room partly for why I don’t blog. Pictures are crap. Blah.

December
Socks for granddaddy:

“No one has ever paid such attention to my feet!” Dec 10-20, 2009. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “China Blue.”

Clapotis for mom:
no picture! Sadpants.
Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, in BMFA Mediumweight “Tanzanite”: October 26-December 21, 2009. Purple! Shiny. Excellent.

Also in December was Finals Week and a personal ass-kicking, as well as winter break. I went home and promptly spent every day sleeping, writing, internetting, eating at weird hours, running occasionally in the mornings, and knitting. I ignored Daegmund the whole time and felt bad. Oh well. Made many plans. Spent time with friends. Enjoyed myself!

In January, I finished some Christmas presents, such as Dad’s gloves and Disco the hedgehog:

gloves by DROPS, 12/22/09-1/14/10, KnitPicks Gloss.

Hello terrible dorm picture! This was for Sarah. Smith by Ysolda Teague, with Cascade 220 and Berocco alpaca and fluff. 12/24/09-1/21/10.

The Whirlpool socks from my personal sock club got started and finished…

December 2, 2009 – January 3, 2010. Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Lakeview,” plus beads!!!!!!!!

ALSO, my pride and joy of the month:

The motherfucking DNA hat.

LOL. omg. So excellent. I had to knit it three times because it was too small EVERY TIME. Fuck you colorwork. Whatever.

Anyway. In the end, successful. January 1-19, 2010, Cascade 220, no pattern, just the chart on my Ravelry page (above).

Finished winter break with a whole lot more of the same, and came back to school. Had an impromptu “airing of the stash” all over my bed.

Not bad, eh? Still not buying more yarn. I just need to not.

Oh, also forgot, new fun incarnation of the sock yarn blanket!

This one is the Ten Stitch Blanket that I saw Erin knitting and waaaaaaaaannntteddd. So I ripped out the squares and went to town.

I started two new pairs of socks, also. My shitty shitty photography does not do these two justice, because they are both SUPER AWESOME.

The first (started at home) is York and Lancaster by the Lisa Grossman (the Tsock Tsarina). I bought the kit at Rhinebeck, and I adore it. Except that it has colorwork and pattern and is WAY TOO HARD to work on while also taking notes in Organic Chem and Biology of Macromolecules. FUCK. I love these. They are not getting worked on. ;_;

Also, Viper Pilots, still super awesome, still too hard to work on and take notes. Wah! I want them. Yarn is Neota Designs Zephyr in “Mountain Majesty” or something. Estes Park.

AAAAAANNNDDDD finally, what I actually HAVE been working on because it was easy enough:
One Row Scarf and Fetchings for Mary in Malabrigo “Amoroso.” No picture because I can’t get my camera to acknowledge a) light or b) saturation, so fuck it. Whatever. It’s very red.

and technically I’m still working on my Bayerische socks, but remember when we talked about things being too hard to work on while note-taking? These are too brain-consuming to even work on while doing fuck-all else. What.

THE END

Welcome to February. See you guys in May, probably.

Or for Ravelympics, which at this point I’m participating in with my goal being KNIT ANYTHING EVER.

Oh. Hai.

Radio silence for the win.

So, that happened. School’s been kicking my ass for 3+ months now. Awesome! I’m taking two lab sciences and a difficult math class, plus an anthro class, so basically I spend all my time doing work.

Except for in the month of November, when I spent all my time doing work so I could spend a few hours writing a novel between 11pm and 1am every day. I love my novel. No seriously. But I had to put it down until exams are over (December 18 please arrive soon).

But! Here’s what I’m really here for. I went to pick up my mail today and had a package. Not expecting any mail, I was surprised. When I was handed the package, I squished it a bit, confused, muttering, “This squishes like yarn.” (Quietly.)

(there was candy too, but I eated it)

I just wanted to send a giant thank you to Mandy. It’s been a rough week, and it’s going to keep being rough, but Mandy sent me two skeins of Peace Fleece in a yummy moss green and two patterns: Dinosaurs and Big Teddy with Overalls. Seriously. Thank you so much.

School has made me lose my mind for anything that isn’t Organic Chem or Genetics or Flux Integrals.

Thank you Mandy. Thank you so much.

LOL I just checked my Ravelry, and of course now I remember where this is from. MANDY! You rock hardcore. Thank you. I was all “mystery package yarn?!?!??!?!?” for a few hours today. Hah.

Oh, and I’ve knit some stuff. Or whatever.

Rhinebeck 2009

I finally got to go!

Okay, first apologies for my extralong unplanned hiatus. This year has been outrageously busy; I barely have time to knit, let alone talk about it. Unf.

So, Rhinebeck. Last spring I missed the Maryland S&W for the spring festival here at school, so this year when fall break and Rhinebeck lined up, I was determined to go!

The Highlights
I finished my FLS in the car at a rest stop in New York on my way down from Vermont from visiting a friend. Sewed on the buttons in a parking lot!

Classy, no?

Animals!

Meeting up with old friends and making new friends!

The Ravelry party, no doubt.

So many knitters taking over!


(LOL)

Went back the second day for more animals and to purchase the yarn I’d fondled the day before.

Then I ran into Jody, go figure!

Too much fun.

So there’s my finished February Lady, as well as my Quincy and Esperanza hat and scarf set. Malabrigo. Awesome. I really love the Quincy (by Jared Flood) construction; it makes me feel incredibly intelligent as a knitter.

I’ve got my Christmas gifts in the works now… hopefully I can get them finished in time. Most of my knitting these days takes place in class because I don’t have time outside of class (!!!). Also, starting November 1st I’ll be working on another novel for NaNoWriMo, so that’ll be a giant time suck. I need to invent more hours in the day. Eep!

My Rhinebeck Sweater…

is under way! Squee!

I’m finally knitting the February Lady Sweater, as planned. I’m knitting it in the Brooks Farm Four Play wool/silk blend that I tried to knit a sweater out of this spring, but failed. It’s knitting up beautifully now, and I’m psyched. I’m going to go visit my friend at Middlebury the week before, and then drive down to the festival and camp out in my car. =D It lines up perfectly with my fall break!

Okay, crap, I didn’t mean to leave this alone for two months, but many things happened since you last saw me!

So, since I last posted, I finished work and went on vacation, and then got back from vacation and went to school, and have been educating myself for four weeks. I have since struggled valiantly to keep up with my Google Reader, but right now, five whole weeks after getting home, I am still ~175 posts behind.

Before I left, I finished the Charade socks.

Start: May 26, 2009
End: July 31, 2009
Pattern: Charade
Yarn: Crash Into Ewe Merino Sock, in “Lady Sings the Blues”
Needles: US 2

Next were the Anastasia socks, which I started before we left as a new selection from my personal sock club.

Start: August 1, 2009
End: August 19, 2009
Pattern: Anastasia Socks
Yarn: Jojoland Melody
Needles: US 2

These were fun, and simple. I knit them all over the country!

I knit another pair while on vacation, and started another pair when I came up to school, but I haven’t taken pictures of them yet. Ack!

I’ve started to rethink my sock yarn blanket, too. I know, I’ve been working on the original since like, 2007, but I think this method might work better. It means I can use up every little scrap ever, and always be working on one piece, and not have to think about shaping too much.

It’s the Ten Stitch Blanket, inspired for me by Erin. I love the look of the mitered squares of the original blanket, but I think I’m going to like working on this one even better.

So, so far I’m just knitting what’s there, and I’ll see how quickly it grows, and how excellent it looks. So far so good.

Unf. October is almost here. I love October! Maybe we’ll get our regular I LOVE OCTOBER post on 10/1/09, but no promises. I have no goddamn time to do anything except problem sets and knit in class.

non-video post

I was going to do a video post for simplicity’s sake, but it was too difficult. Go figure.

Charade socks are coming along– I’m past the heel turn by now, and have finished the gussets. Yesterday at work I separated them from one another and I am working them one at a time. Not that this is particularly logical, given that the repeat is so short row-wise, but they seem to go faster. Also one sock was less unwieldy than two yesterday when I was knitting AT WORK because it was SO SLOW, so there.

Sock yarn blanket has 1.5 new squares: the green one, and the teal one. I love this blanket. That is all.

Last, I’m about 12 or 13 rows from the bind-off of this shawl, but it’s SO BIG by now that each row takes me 45 minutes. Plus nupps. It’s lovely, though, and the only thing I’m worried about is the liiiiiiittle tiny ball of yarn that exists now. Hopefully it can carry me through.

Bayerische socks are abandoned, because they’re hard! There’s no convenient time or place to work on them. Bah. Qiviut cowl is coming along, slowly but surely. It’s about 3/4 of the way done.

Today, I’m working at the LYS, and may have convinced one of the ladies from real!work to come in and learn how to knit. Hooray!