These are both very popular patterns on Ravelry at the moment. The first is the Gaptastic Cowl, but I only cast on 107 stitches and it's 7 or so inches wide. I used two skeins of Malabrigo Gruesa in Polygala and I can't tell you how much this color excites me. I've been wearing this a lot and have received so many compliments. It's really inspired me to be impulsive: if I have sweaty-hand love for it in the store, I may love wearing it regularly, and I do!
The second is more typical Ali: neutral color, made for usefulness. I took an old cotton GAP sweater and unraveled it, which, to me, is sort of a magical thing. A whole sleeve in a single piece of yarn!
I wasn't going to go through the mind-numbing seed stitch again, so I opted for the Honey Cowl with Gap-tastic dimensions. I held two strands together, cast on 130 stitches, and knit for about 11 inches. I love how soft and drapey this is and, since it's cotton, there's the possibility that I may wear it thoughout the year.
So there you have it: One colorful snood to punch up the plain, neutral outfits I live in, and one neutral to pair with everything else. They're far from perfect—still working on not twisting stitches. The Gaptastic Cowl has two twists and the Honey Cowl one twist, but I'm gonna chalk it up to my learning curve.
There are so many things I want to knit. A beret, wool socks, fingerless gloves, and (eek) a sweater? Oh, I heart being a beginner: Everything seems possible.
Hope you're all well. There's a dress on the cutting table -- more on that soon!
Congratulations on becoming a knitter, welcome to the club! Your purple snood looks fantastic, I can understand you receive many compliments on it, the colour fits you perfectly. I love your knitting plans as well, would love to follow you on Ravelry and to add you to my friends at Ravelry, I am viola33 there.
ReplyDeleteOooh, they're lovely! Well done you! I just get so bored with knitting that I can't find the motivation, shame as there's so many things I want to make! I shall just have to live vicariously through you :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab colour on you! There is something so satisfying about an "instant knit" ( and two weeks is practically instant in knitting-speak!)
ReplyDeleteThey look fantastic! I've totally been thinking of making a cowl! I love my (very long) scarf but 1. it's very long and 2. the bamboo rayon doesn't quite have the warmth that's required by the current weather...
ReplyDeleteI love the purple, it's a great contrast color on you. The grey one looks very versatile and you're wearing a great outfit to go with it! The blouse and sweater combo looks yummy. :)
Such a fantastic idea to unravel a sweater for the yarn! I'll have to keep an eye out for sweaters made of nice yarn...
Good luck with your knitting endeavors! It really is a nice way to spend some time, and I've found that I've knit enough in the last weeks that now I can do easy patterns (as in, just knit stitches) even while reading! Now if someone just developed a page-turner at my reading speed... ;)
great cowls! they are such great beginner projects. i wish they had been popular when i was learning to knit.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I pink puffy heart the purple cowl!!! It looks fabulous on you! Both cowls are awesome - well done!
ReplyDeleteThe cowls both look great on you. I just knitted a mini cowl but am tempted to try a bigger and chunkier one. The unravelled sweater is a clever idea. x
ReplyDeleteI love those cowls! well done. I need to dig out my knitting tools!
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