Oh, I love everything about this finished project!
Just off the needles, the stitches were a little burbly, and the ribbing at top and bottom were a bit flared.
A little bath with Soak woolwash, and a pat out, and everything is much smoother.
I’ll wear it like this, because I want the flower to show under my chin; the side motifs will scrunch down a bit. Better than centering the side motif, and losing the flowers!
I’m really pleased with the colors. I had the Granite, Lipstick, White, and Lupin as leftovers from last year’s Bonnie Isle hat. The black (Mirry Dancer) and oatmeal (Eesit/White) are new. I love how the Eesit/White warms the palette up a bit. Very subtle, but it’s there.
Mods: Many! This is from the Shetland Wool Week Buggiflooer Beanie pattern. I reduced the stitch count based on my usual gauge on US 3 needles with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. I used 136 stitches so I could use 4 repeats of the flower chart. I shortened the ribbing by 3 rounds, because I wanted more flower than ribbing. My cowl measures 20” x 6.75” inches, blocked. It grew taller by half an inch with blocking, but the width did not change.
Now that I have this finished, I might knit a hat, on exactly this many stitches. It fits my head as well as it fits my neck. It’s a giant gauge swatch! We’ll see if I have some spare time.
Join my class on Sunday if you’d like me to walk you through the ins and outs of stranded colorwork! Register here.
I started the Buggiflooer Beanie a few days ago, adjusting the stitch count based on my known gauge with this yarn.
Katie’s Kep, da Crofter’s Kep, Bonnie Isle
I’ve knit 3 previous Shetland Wool Week hats with Jamieson’s Spindrift, which means I have 3 existing gauge swatches!
I did some math so I could reduce the main stitch count by one flower motif (which would make it an inch smaller than the previous hats), but I goofed up my math between the ribbing and the pink zigzag sections. I only realized it when I got to the next motif (flower), and was off by 4 stitches. Math, blech. I could go back and fudge it, but I I took it as a sign that I should knit a cowl instead of a beanie, anyway. I don’t wear hats very often.
You can see that I shortened the corrugated ribbing a bit when I restarted; I took out one row of each of the colors (white/gray/white) because the ribbing will repeat at the top of the cowl (symmetry!), and I don’t want it to overpower the lovely buggiflooer.
It’s going swimmingly. Look at all those pretty heathered colors in the background color, Mirry Dancer! So much more interesting than flat black. And I made a little braid with my yarn ends, so I don’t accidentally knit with a tail. I know I could weave in ends as I go, but I’m still not completely committed to the project yet.
I recently bought myself a little present…a knitting light. It’s helpful with the black yarn if I’m tinking (I don’t have to see to knit) in bed; the lamp on my nightstand isn’t quite enough. It will also be a hands-free camping light. I tried a different one earlier this month, but it was heavier and clunkier, and prone to accidentally turning on in my bag. I like this one much better!
I need to start packing for the Vogue Knitting Alaska cruise. And of course that means deciding what knitting project will come with me! I’m enjoying Buggiflooer, but I don’t want it to be my main cruise knitting next week. Cruise knitting is social knitting, and counting charted colorwork isn’t conducive to chatting.
My little DK brioche project from the schooner trip isn’t panning out the way I hoped. It was great social knitting, though. I have about 4 inches done, and it’s lovely, but my yarn scale and math are telling me that two skeins won’t get me across the finish line. It won’t be a cost-effective cowl design if it requires 4 skeins of sparkly luxury yarn, so I’ll use this beautiful yarn for a something else later.
I do have an experimental version of this shape under way in fingering weight yarn, and I think that can be completed with two skeins. But I’m not completely committed to it yet, either. I need a backup plan.
Malabrigo Rios in Solis andLiquidambar
Ever since MDK Summer Camp, I’ve been thinking of the elegant knit-in i-cord edging that we put on our mini washcloths (thank you Lorilee Bateman). So tidy! I’m planning to re-knit my Slip Away Cowl before upcoming classes, and play with that i-cord edging. If I like it, I’ll update the pattern to include it. This should be a reasonable social knitting project. Except that I’m monkeying with it a bit…
When you go on trips, what do you pack first? Knitting? Or clothing? I think you can see my priorities all over this page!
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 