Thanks for your good thoughts in the comments. I am improving after last weekend’s back issue and hope to soon be walking upright instead of resembling a question mark.

Check this out:

This is Cowl Girls II by Cathy Carron, published this month by Sixth&Spring Books. It’s a pattern collection for . . . you guessed it . . . cowls.

You can review the projects on the book’s page on Ravelry.

Some favorites:

This design is called Comfort Zone and it is made up of afghan squares. It would be a great way to use up leftovers, and you could achieve a lot of different looks depending on the colors used.

“Winter Classic” is knit from super bulky yarn so is a very quick knit — perfect if you need a last-minute gift. Also a good way for a colorwork novice to practice skills.

“Sweet Treats” combines two colors and two different stitch patterns: lace and cables.

Who’d like my review copy?

To be entered in the drawing to win my copy of  Cowl Girls II please leave a comment on this post by 11:00am on Sunday, October 2, 2016.

By the way, Cathy Carron’s first Cowl book came out 6 years ago: I reviewed it in September 2010!

Here is the little prince, worn out from a hard day of playing.

The plan for today’s blog post was that I was going to show you how I finished the body of the colorwork jacket with a photo of it steam-blocked and laid out carefully.

Well, yeah, that didn’t happen. I woke up this morning with some pretty serious new back pain. (New! Improved!) Being an expert at back pain, I can tell that this is not muscular but neurological, and I am hoping that something is being pinched temporarily. Emphasis on temporarily. And not something that broke off and is jammed into a nerve. I think it is the former rather than the latter, which is good, but blocking knitting is definitely not on the agenda.

Anyway, that’s all a long way of me saying that the photos are less than fabulous!

Here’s the front:

Here’s the back:

And a closeup of the top of the back.

And I started a sleeve yesterday.

And now I need to get back to my furry heating pad.

Yes, I’m stil working along on my colorwork “tube.”

It is indeed a tube — I’m working in the round and will cut the front steek later to make a cardigan/jacket. The steek is that column of stripes in the middle:

That is a facing at the bottom. It will folded up and sewn to the inside later.

Here is the middle back, with the Art Deco-y looking column of what I think of as lilies:

And a closeup of the top of the back.

I am halfway up the armhole at this point, so the end of the tube is in sight!

Then I will knit two smaller tubes — the sleeves — and pick up and knit front bands and collar. So there is still a lot of work left to do on this.

Loki is exhausted just thinking about what is yet to come!

First things first, thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for an autographed copy of Remembering the Way by Greta Beekhuis. The winner is emcknits, who has been contacted via email.

Next up . . . something new from Annie’s Craft Store. You may know of Annie’s site — they are not only knitting -related, but have lots of other crafts represented. I have given away booklets of knitting patterns from annie’s a number of times in the page. They are now introducing Annie’s Signature Designs, and the Autumn Bliss 2016 Collection, for both knitting and crochet. There are extensive lookbooks for knitting and crochet linked to from that page, and one of the nice features of the lookbooks are 360-degree videos, found here. For quick reference, check out a page with thumbnails of the designs (with links to videos) here. There’s a little bit of everything — cardis, pullovers, ponchos, accessories. The designs are knit from readily available yarns and you can even order your yarn from Annie’s, building your own kit.

Work in Progress

My Hitchhiker Beyond is progressing slowing because I only managed a few minutes of lunchtime knitting each day. But here is a progress photo:

And here is my little angel relaxing on his sofa.

I used to knit on my commute to and from work, but have not done so for that past few years. Instead, I read.

I go through quite a few books each month and am always on the lookout for a new author. And I just found one, in a knitter I’ve known online, and have met in real life. I just finished reading her book:

This is Remembering the Way by Greta Beekhuis. It’s a story about a medical research scientist who one day decides to take a different turn in his life, and we see where this takes him, in both expected and unexpected directions. It’s written in the first person, from his point of view and was a fascinating look into another person’s mind, to see the routines and methods and ways of thinking he uses to cope with the world. But not only is it a peek into the mind of a person who processes life experiences differently than most people, it’s a lovely story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. And I took comfort in recognizing some of the mechanisms that I use to cope with everyday life present in some of the ways the protagonist Larry copes with life.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. You can purchase from Amazon at the link above — it’s available in both paperback and kindle edition.

Or you can win a copy.

To be entered in a drawing to win a paperback copy of Remembering the Way, personally autographed for you by the author, leave a comment on this blog post by Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 11:00am Eastern Time. We’ll pick a winner at random then.

Loki sez:

“Peace out.”