I’m back from VKLiveNYC, playing catch up, and on the move again. I’m now in Tacoma for Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival. I’ll catch up later! For now, here’s a little something to amuse you. And I’m offering a buy one/get one deal!
Fuzzy Memories cowl
Fuzzy Memories is designed to use one precious skein of souvenir laceweight yarn. My souvenir yarn was a one ounce skein of qiviut (muskox yarn) purchased on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise in 2023. This fuzzy yarn needed an unfussy stitch pattern to complement the dreamy fluffiness, so I chose a stockinette variation of Old Shale Lace.
Qiveut Designs Laceweight QiviutFuzzy Memories in Manos del Uruguay Cabrito
This cowl will also work with a 25g skein of laceweight mohair such as Rowan KidSilk Haze or Manos del Uruguay Cabrito. A fuzzy yarn will help keep the cowl’s shape at this loose gauge. Savor your warm fuzzy memories!
Airy Old Shale stockinette lace
The pattern is available on Ravelry, link here. I’m having a BOGO sale; put Fuzzy Memories and one other pattern or ebook in your cart, enter the coupon code FUZZ at checkout, and the Fuzzy Memories pattern will be free. This offer is good through February 21, 2024.
I finished my Fuzzy Memories cowl on vacation in Hawaii in December. That’s another fabulous memory!
No yarn chicken here; I did the math!
Is there a precious skein of souvenir yarn in your stash?
Well, I didn’t get my swatching done for the When Harry Met Lucy KAL, but I have a good excuse. I went on vacation and couldn’t fit bulky yarn into my luggage!
Knitting on the go with qiviut and POG mimosa
But one ounce of laceweight qiviut, 200 yards, doesn’t take up much space at all. And yes, that’s a tiny yarn scale because I didn’t want to have a yarn chicken issue when coming to the end. I wanted to use as much of the yarn as possible.
No yarn chicken here!
I ended up with just over half a gram left, which was less than one round’s worth of yarn. Perfect.
Souvenir qiviut cowl
I gave it a light steam blocking. The top edge doesn’t wave as much as the bottom; that’s the nature of this stitch pattern (Old Shale). It doesn’t matter; the whole thing will collapse around my neck. I began and ended with a garter stitch edge to give it some heft, and to avoid curling.
Old Shale stitch pattern detail
I’m glad I chose this stitch pattern; it has just enough going on to make it interesting, but I was never fighting with not being able to see the stitches with this dark and fuzzy yarn.
Qiviut cowl
I’m really happy with how this souvenir qiviut cowl turned out. I didn’t have much use for this cowl on vacation in Hawaii, but I put it on right after we landed back in Portland. I was so glad that I had it with me in my carry-on bag! 36 degrees F which was quite a shock to the system. This cowl is so lightweight, soft, and warm. I love it.
Is it worth writing up a pattern, or should it just be one and done? It’s great for any precious souvenir yarn. This particular yarn began in Alaska and ended in Hawaii, the 49th and 50th states. It’s been a good knitting year.
I did bring some fingering weight yarn with me for a design project, too. It didn’t take up too much room!
Every time I picked up my knitting, the cast on edge bugged me. It was a little too tight, and it was curling badly. I didn’t know if it was going to block out, and that made me hesitant to continue.
So I ripped it out. And while I was ripping it out, I started thinking…of course I did. I liked the fabric I was getting with the US 6 needles. I knew about how many stitches I needed for a cowl. And wouldn’t it be nice if it had fewer patterning rounds, and more plain knit since it’s so hard to see the dark stitches?
Do-over!
I cast on loosely, and then knit two garter ridges (4 rounds) before beginning the Old Shale lace patterning. I wanted a substantial edge that wouldn’t curl. I also wanted to put the first lace patterning row further away from the edge, hoping that would also help prevent the curl.
The Bubble Net pattern had patterning on Rounds 1 and 3, and plain knitting on rounds 2 and 4. I’m working Old Shale (with no garter ridges), which has easily memorized patterning on Round 1, then 3 plain rounds. Less paying attention, perfect. I’m very happy with the new start.
I guess I’m designing my own cowl after all.
I’m knitting on Knit Picks Rainbow Options (birch) interchangeable needles. I picked these up at their Knit in Public Day in June. They have just enough grip with this skinny yarn.
Oh, I want to give a shout out to this ebook, Old Shale Variations edited by Mary Spanos from the Greater Birmingham Fiber Guild. It’s a free download on Ravelry, and chronicles the guild’s group project of varying ways to knit Old Shale lace: wider, narrower, garter, stockinette, etc. Very fun to see how you can change the appearance.
I chose to use stockinette (no purling, in the round), and a short number of rounds. Fewer rounds means more complete repeats before heading into an ending garter stitch edge and bind off. (Example: If you only have enough yarn for 10 rounds, you can knit two 4 round repeats, or *zero* 12 round repeats which would waste a lot of this precious yarn. Shorter is better.)
Do you listen to that little voice that tells you to DO OVER? Sometimes I wait a lot longer, and the ripping is brutal! Glad I listened early.
I had a great time on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise on the Holland America Eurodam. I taught brioche classes, had fun with other knitters and DH (my plus one), and visited some cool towns and glaciers. But I know you’re here for the yarn, so I’ll start with my three yarn shop visits.
Display case at Changing Tides, and is that a JaMPDX yarn bowl?
Our first stop was in Juneau. I made a quick scouting trip as DH waited for me in a coffee shop before our tour to Mendenhall Glacier. Changing Tides (Instagram link, formerly Seaside Yarns) is right in the port area. They have yarn and lots of fabric for quilters, too. Local dyers Juneau Woolies and Alaskan Yarn Co. are featured here.
Qiviut, or qiveut
I try not to stash a lot of yarn; I’d rather shop for each project as I go. But I knew I wanted to get a skein of qiviut, musk ox fiber, while on this trip. You can buy qiviut yarn in its natural brown color, but this lovely Violet called my name. Qiviut is very soft with a lovely halo. Stitch definition won’t be great, but that’s not the point. It’s lightweight, warm, and cozy, and it packs down to nearly nothing. This skein is 200 yards of fingering weight, and it will be a simple cowl, eventually.
Qiviut facts, click to embiggen
Changing Tides also had a little goodie bag for VK cruisers: a mini skein, postcard, and tea. Sweet!
In Sitka I stopped at the Raven’s Hook, a small arts and crafts store with yarn and other craft supplies. No qiviut here.
My favorite thing here was the yarn dyed by Raven Frog Fibers in kits for the Glacier Bay Beanie by Nancy Bates. I resisted because I knew I’d never knit the hat (I don’t wear them very often), but oh how I coveted that blue yarn! I’d love a whole skein of it, please.
In Ketchikan I visited Fabulous Fiber Arts and More (formerly The Hive on the Creek). This is an easy walk from the dock.
They have an inspiring wall of yarn from Raven Frog Fibers (and more twisted hanks in the cubbies below), including the Glacier Bay Beanie kits. I still resisted the beanie, but I swear it was following me!
Raven Frog’s Garden Wall colorway was swoon-worthy.
Fabulous Fiber’s other featured indie dyer is Robin’s Nest Fiber Arts; Robin is one of the owners of the shop. She dyes very pretty yarns on interesting bases.
I fell in love with this Robin’s Nest color on a sparkle base, but Rhoda found it first. Clearly it’s her palette; it goes with what she’s wearing! And no, Rhoda wasn’t on my cruise; she and Jen were on a different ship, the Royal Princess. We ran into each other in both Juneau and Ketchikan. (I first met Rhoda and Jen at VKLNYC last February.) Like the beanie kit, I think they’re following me!
Juneau meetup
They were out of qiviut here, so I’m glad I bought some in Juneau while I had the chance. That’s my lone Alaska yarn souvenir.
My other cruise souvenir? Covid-19! After we got home, I poured myself a glass of bubbly. It didn’t taste like anything. Nor did the cherry tomato, chocolate chips, and pistachios I tried after that. Uh-oh. (Breakfast on the ship was delicious that morning.)
Guess which one is mine? I feel like I have a cold; it’s not terrible. I’m hoping I can taste/smell things again soon!
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 