I have two pretty things to show you today.
First:
This is my progress on my Britta Cowl, knit from a pattern by Johanne Landin. It is worked stranded and in the round using two different colors. I am using the yarn that the original was knit from, Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball 100, and in the original colors because I love the look of the original.
It is a very long cowl, so you can double it around your neck, and it starts with a provisional cast-on. The cast-on required perseverance on my part! Using waste yarn, I did a backwards loop cast-on and knit one row. Then using the working yarn I joined and started knitting in the round. I checked 5 or 6 times to ensure that I hadn’t twisted my work.
After you complete the “body,” you fold it in half and work a three-needle bind-off to secure the beginning stitches to the end stitches. Very clever — you have a lovely field of flowers showing at all times and the stranded wrong-side is hidden in the middle.
This is another “long haul” project, as there are well over 500 stitches on the needle. But it is great fun to knit. The pattern is simple enough that I don’t have to keep looking at the chart, and the subtle color changes in the yarn make me want to keep knitting to see the knitted fabric emerge.
Second:
This is a skein of Wayfarer fingering weight wool, a new offering from Made in America Yarns.
This yarn has been designed with a solid palette especially for Fair Isle knitters. (It would be great to see it combined with a hand-dyed yarn too.) They kept it 100% wool instead of superwash to minimize the environmental impact and keep all of the good qualities of wool.
I have a colorcard:
You can also see all the colors on their website. The specs:
Content: 100% wool
Weight: 100 g | 3.5 oz
Length: 349 m | 382 yds
Care: Dry clean or hand wash in cold water. No bleach. Dry flat, do not iron.
MSRP is $14 per skein — a really great price! Check out the list of retailers to find out where to buy this great yarn, or ask your LYS to carry it — you won’t be disappointed!
I knit a swatch:
The yarn is made up of many plies, and in the skein has an almost cotton look to it, much like a very popular German yarn I know and love. Knit it up and wow! It is lovely and springy and makes nicely uniform stitches. I can see how this yarn will be great for both colorwork and texture. I haven’t quite decided what my yarn will become, but I’m thinking possibly a cowl or a hat.
Who else would like to try it? Made in America Yarns has kindly offered to send a skein to one of my blog readers since I am too greedy to give mine up. 🙂
Leave a comment on this blog post by 11:00 AM eastern time this Sunday, December 15, 2013, to be entered in a drawing to win a skein of this lovely Wayfarer fingering weight wo0l, in the color of your choice. When the random number generator picks the winner, I’ll email said winner with color options. 🙂
Wait — I have a third pretty thing to show you!