on my way south again!

Back to Peru, land of yarn and spinning and alpacas...it's my own little piece of heaven! I will also visit some friends in Chile and Ecuador, just to see what those countries have to offer fiber lovers. An old friend from my first trip (4 years ago) is currently part of a exposition with his amazing weavings and knittings...check him out. I have been waiting over a year to sneak back down south, and now I have 18 days to enjoy myself!

Mom's Birthday Cowl

Here is yet another example of my inability to walk away from the classic Feather and Fan stitch. I loved the two yarns together, and wanted a simple pattern that showed the beautiful drape of the Alpaca Silk and the glittery softness of the Kid Mohair, and because I am a creature of habit, the feathers and fans just fell off my needles in less than two days from yarn purchase to wet blocking.

Yarn:
1 skein Fancy Image Limited Edition Sparkling Kid Mohair ,(200 yards, color Cream)
1 skein Blue Sky Alpaca Silk,(146 yards, color Wisteria)

Needles and Notions:
size 8 16"circular needle
stitch markers or safety pins
darning needle
scissors

Gauge:
Not critical, and I forgot to measure it before I gave the cowl away!

Pattern:
Feather and Fan Stitch in the Round (from Gaby Monson )
Round 1 and 2: Knit around
Round 3: *K2tog 3 times, (yo, k1)6 times, k2tog 3 times. Repeat from * around to beginning marker.
Round 4: Knit around

With one strand of both A and B held together, cast on 108 stitches.
Join, being careful not to twist stitches, and purl one round
Knit one round, placing a stitch marker every 18 stitches
Purl one round
Begin Feather and Fan stitch Pattern, work the 4 round repeat 12 times, ending after Round 4.
Purl one round
Knit one round
Purl one round
Bind off all stitches loosely (yet neatly)

weave in your ends, soak and block to get rid of the kinks and shape the scallops, wear and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Because I was so eager to give this away, I forgot to count how many repeats I did of the pattern and had to rely on counting rounds from my pictures...this is not an exact science, so just quit with the pattern when you are about five yards from running out of the Alpaca Silk, then follow the instructions for the garter end.
And here's my lovely mudder, wearing her cowl:

I should be humble....

but earlier this evening I was looking for the perfect pattern for the ONE skein of Malabrigo that is mocking me from its perch on the top of my yarn tower, so I went to the Malabrigo Yarn webpage. I searched patterns, and who should I see but me! My pattern is featured on their webpage, courtesy of Jimmy Beans Wool! If you could see me now, I am grinning like a fool. Silly knitter, shame on me, etc. etc. I think this is pride: not in the stuck up way, but in the my-kid-just-learned-to-tie-their-shoe way!

And so it goes...

Knitting is my favorite second thing to do. I love that I can knit while sitting through meetings, or while stuck in traffic on I-5. I can knit while waiting for the dentist to call me back, or while watching a movie. It is never the only thing I do, but it is always there and ready to keep my hands occupied while my brain, eyes, or mouth are also otherwise occupied.

Lately, I feel like I haven't done that much knitting, but then today I took a peek at my recent projects. I have TWO pairs of socks going right now, one on size 2 needles and the other on size 4 needles-this should technically count as four projects, seeing as how I am knitting them using the two at a time method. I also found some fantastically colored acrylic yarn, very reasonably priced and just the right gauge for making that adorable Chiton Pullover from the latest issue of Knitscene. Because I have never worked with this yarn before, we'll see how it goes as far as drape and hand, but I am always up for a challenge. The belt is just cast on, with about two inches of garter into the necessary 55 inches.

Stay tuned, because I will post the pattern for mom's birthday present after Sunday, February 6th (once I have had a chance to gift it to her)!