Or at least alpaca and bamboo. =)
Last winter, a friend saw my then newly-knit fingerless gloves and asked for a pair so we went off in search of some great yarn while working in Portland. She picked up two skeins of Qina from Mirasol Yarn, a blend of alpaca and bamboo, in a beautiful charcoal grey. I haven't been knitting much this year so the yarn has been sitting, unloved, for much too long. Now that the temps are starting to drop (everywhere but here apparently), I thought it was time to pull this out and give it a go.
This weekend I finished off a few of my older projects that sat unfinished far too long, with this project as a bit of incentive. I didn't want to start anything new with all the old stuff still sitting there. Mission accomplished and guilt abated. =) So after finishing the others, I cast on the pair of delayed fingerless mitts for my friend on Sunday.... finishing Monday. This yarn is so yummy! Soft and warm. I think they'll be well-received. The pattern I chose, Fetching, knit up incredibly quickly and took only one full skein and just a bit from skein two for the second thumb. They weigh exactly 50g though so had I been careful, I could have used just the one skein after all, but I had fears of running out on that second thumb and having to pick back. heh
Love the picot bind-off!
Since we didn't have a specific pattern in mind all those months ago, she purchased two skeins of this luxurious-feeling yarn. Still having almost a full skein left, I decided I wanted to make something else cozy to go with the mitts. Using the cable pattern used on Fetching, I worked up a pattern for a small cowl/neck warmer with a button closure but didn't like the way it was coming out halfway through so I reworked it into a circular cowl instead and started over. Had to resize it halfway through and start over, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.
Here are the details for A Fetching Cowl:
Since we didn't have a specific pattern in mind all those months ago, she purchased two skeins of this luxurious-feeling yarn. Still having almost a full skein left, I decided I wanted to make something else cozy to go with the mitts. Using the cable pattern used on Fetching, I worked up a pattern for a small cowl/neck warmer with a button closure but didn't like the way it was coming out halfway through so I reworked it into a circular cowl instead and started over. Had to resize it halfway through and start over, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.
Here are the details for A Fetching Cowl:
Yarn is DK weight, size 6 needles (a set of dpns will work, but a 16" circ makes it even quicker!)
Gauge: 25 st and 26 rows to 4" (worked in rib pattern, unstretched of course)
Finished measurements: @17" around and @5" tall (again, unstretched, the rib allows plenty of room to pass over the head)
CO = cast on
BO = bind off
PM = place marker
st = stitches
K = knit
P = purl
st = stitches
K = knit
P = purl
C4F = transfer 2 st to cable needle, hold to front of work, K2, K2 off cable needle
C4B = transfer 2 st to cable needle, hold to back of work, K2, K2 off cable needle
CO 110 st in a stretchy CO (I used the cable cast-on)
PM and join in the round.
Round 1 (R1): *K4, P1*, repeat to end of round
Repeat R1 until just before the halfway point. If using my measurements, repeat until your cowl reaches just shy of 2 1/2". (I did this by weight since I was working with a small amount of yarn and wanted to get the most out of it - just weigh the remainder of the ball you're working from and work your cable round when you have a little over half left.)
Cable round: *C4B, P1*, repeat 10 more times, *C4F, P1*, repeat 10 more times.
Repeat R1 for another 2 1/4" (or adjust if you've made yours smaller or bigger).
P 1 round. (This will help a bit with the cowl wanting to roll and make it match if you've used the cable cast-on.)
BO in your favorite stretch manner. Weave in ends. =)
Resizing the pattern -For a larger or smaller cowl, simple add or subtract your CO stitches by multiples of 5 and adjust your cable round to suit your CO number. A multiple of 10 CO stitches will result in an even number of cables leaning right and left, but no one will notice if there aren't an even amount!
Resizing the pattern -For a larger or smaller cowl, simple add or subtract your CO stitches by multiples of 5 and adjust your cable round to suit your CO number. A multiple of 10 CO stitches will result in an even number of cables leaning right and left, but no one will notice if there aren't an even amount!
Perfect as a set! (And ridiculously quick to knit! Hmm, Christmas gifts anyone?)
Those are really gorgeous FOs!
ReplyDeleteMirasol makes AWESOME yarns. Love them.