River Colors Journal

Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Let the games begin!

The knitting olympics are upon us and this summer we're sweating it out in Rio... well not really but I can pretend. Wait... what exactly is the knitting olympics you ask? Well to keep it brief... you pick out a project, cast-on during the Olympic opening ceremonies on Friday, August 5th and then proceed to knit like the wind to project completion before the Olympic closing ceremonies on Sunday, August 21st. You can either participate on your own, with a local group of friends or with virtual friends over Ravelry in the Ravellenic Games 2016 group.

I'm taking on the knitting Olympic challenge this year and I decided to keep it simple, keep it bulky and keep it in the U.S.A. by using all american wool. I'll be casting on the Lainey Cowl by Carrie Bostick Hoge using Cestari Yarn Mt. Vernon 3-ply bulky that I picked up during our Shephard's Day event at the studio. I think this pattern/yarn combination is a match made in heaven. The simplicity of the Lainey Cowl calls for a yarn that will create on point stitch definition. With only a few weeks to wrap this project up into completion, look for some finished project photos and yarn thoughts later this month.

Lainey Cowl by Carrie Bostick Hoge

Happy Crafting!

Gail

Labels: cowl, Madder Anthology 2, Made in America yarns, Olympics, super bulky

Thursday, May 19, 2016

A perfect pairing!

When you find that perfect yarn and pattern pairing, it is like finding the end of a rainbow! That's what happened the moment I saw the finished Clementine cowls that were popping up during our Thursday evening social knit. My favorite Clementine FOs were the ones that used 1 skein of Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool and 1 skein of Freia Fibres Handpaints Ombré Sport. The pairing of these two gradient style yarns got to me and I had to cast-on a shop sample right away!

Clementine Cowl Shop Sample
Freia Dusk/Spincycle Pick Your Poison

The shop sample was actually my second Clementine because I knit one for myself and I just loved the soothing hand work of the slipped stitch patterning. After knitting my first one, I did realize the error in my way of not reading all of the pattern instructions (do as I say, not as I do...). So should you decide to cast one on today, follow the suggestion in the pattern and skip the blocking because it does flatten out the fabulous texture of the polka dot pattern.

Have I convinced you to cast one on yet? Yes! Awesome! Here is another tip, go for contrast... not matchy, matchy. Here are some color combination suggestions:

Freia Espresso/Spincycle Overpasses

Freia Dusk and Spincycle Pick Your Poison

Freia Dusk/Spincycle Pick Your Poison

Freia Melon/Spincycle Pussywillow

Freia Hard Candy and Spincycle Robin's Egg

Freia Hard Candy/Spincycle Robin's Egg

Freia Autumn Rose and Spincycle Snow Hero

Freia Autumn Rose/Spincycle Snow Hero

I just recently ran into The SpinCycle Spinsters at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Indie Pop-up shop hosted by The Knot House (a definite must stop if you are in the Frederick, MD area). I might have taken home 1... okay it was actually 3 skeins of their fabulous wool. I snapped a few images for your viewing pleasure.

Want to know all more about the Spinsters of Spincycle? Check out Episode 57 of the Woolful Podcast.

Happy Crafting!

Gail

Labels: cowl, freia handpaint yarns, gradient yarns, knitting, spincycle yarns, sport weight

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Not so wooly Arika Cowl

Arika Cowl

At the studio many of us are fans of the designer Jane Richmond. She recently had a knit along for her Arika cowl and I stumbled into it at the very end. I was reviewing the projects on Ravelry after I found the pattern and most people had done it in some type of wool or alpaca. I decided to break loose and use the yarn Norah by Stacy Charles because I wanted to be able to wear the cowl for most of the year rather than just the cold weather. I totally fell in love with the linen and silk blend as I was working with it. I love the swing and the drape that results from the fabric you create. It is kind of funny because some 300+ ravelers have made it to date and few have used something other than wool. Yarn substitution is often a bit of a challenge if you start to actually consider factors other than gauge. In this case I am thrilled with the results and encourage you to venture into something not "so wooly" as you work on projects this summer.

Labels: cowl, jane richmond. linen, knitting, silk