Monday, October 15, 2012

Two Fall Projects Finished!


good morning to a new week

and an update on two finished Fall projects!

here is the story of two cowls, made of yarn I found on our travels along the East Coast of Canada





to tell you more about the left one in red tones, let me take you to Victoria, on Prince Edward Island

a cute little town at sea, quite touristic with a few lovely shops

one of them being Ewe & Dye Weaving, owned by darling Christine

she happened to have just finished spinning this cheerful yarn, and I couldn't resist

wool from her own sheep; washed, dyed and spun by hand - isn't that the perfect thing?






Christine is into weaving, among other things she makes the most beautiful tea towels and poncho's

she also told me about how rug weaving is an old technique, practiced on the East Coast for a long time

if you're interested, check out Deanne Fitzpatrick's website with online courses and free videos

and Doris Eaton's book about artful rug hooking





well, from rugs back to the knitting a cowl - I loved making this comfy red-pink one

it took me 3 restarts before I go the right amount of stitches and size of needles 

because I wanted this one skein to become one cowl with the right measurements

I ended up using needle size 7 mm, cast on 16 stitches and knitted the Dutch 'patentsteek'

in Dutch, there is a YouTube tutorial here that worked well for me

also, as I was browsing online... 

I found you can do this stitch with two colors and this Dutch YouTube tutorial seems great and clear to me

in English, I think it is called the brioche stitch - even though it is done differently, the result looks the same

this silent tutorial is very clear to me





the depth of the 'patentsteek' doesn't show too well in the pictures, that's why I added the picture top right

to show how it looks when you open up the stitches

if you'd like the depth of the stitch to show more, you can choose to knit this cowl in the round

the stitches will be stretched width-wise when you wear it, and show off the structure

as I am typing, I am thinking that will look great with a two colored version as mentioned above...




well, the purple cowl according to this pattern is crocheted with a soft yarn I found in The Loop in Halifax

the yarn is a mix of mostly cashmere, merino and silk - I can't think of a more luxurious combination

now with this project, I didn't enjoy the making at.all. I decided I am not made to work with light weight yarn

I absolutely love wearing it though, now that it is finished! 

~

needless to say, I am very happy with me two new cowls

and hope I did not pick up on the cowl fever to make several more...

wishing you a lovely week


19 comments:

  1. ❤Love your cowl..will check out that stitch!

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  2. Both cowls are beautiful. Each one has its own charm.

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  3. They are both gorgeous - and the yarns are incredible. The colours in Christine's wool are so beautiful.

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  4. Wat een prachtige post, mooie kleurige breiwerkjes en fantastische plaatjes.
    Groetjes, Truus.

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  5. gorgeous!

    greats
    Angeline
    www.mijnplekkie.tk

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  6. Hi dear one...such amazingly stunning images...you know how much I LOVE colour...thank you for all the eye candy today. HUGS

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  7. Beautiful cowls! I just made one, and am working on another one! They are my favorite to wear! Have a lovely week! xo Heather

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  8. Wat zijn ze mooi geworden! Vooral die paarse. Ik denk dat ik die ook nog maar eens ga proberen.

    Groetjes, Agnes.

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  9. Those colours are gorgeous! Of course being a brand new spinner and dyer I'm right up for a bit of cowl love!

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  10. I just love those photos! that place so amazing- those woven pieces! The cowl with the red yarn looks great- it must have been fun knitting with a yarn you saw being spun :)
    xo

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  11. such beautiful colors and pictures ! i am in love with your posts. ! :)

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  12. Oh that red yarn looks so nice and pretty! The cowls are gorgeous too. Nice to wear when getting colder :)

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  13. Hello Maaike,
    Your cowls are so beautiful!!!

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  14. Love these colors this time of the year. The red cowl is my favorite!!! Wonderful.

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  15. How wide did you make the purple cowl? I'm working on the same pattern and am curious.

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    1. Hi Anudja, my cowl is 18 rows wide, about 20 cm when I lay it flat. How are you finding this project? xx

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  16. Thanks Maaike! I decided to make mine 17 rows after trying to do 18 and discovering that I'm running out of yarn. :) I have enjoyed making this cowl (my second cowl ever), but like you, I think I like working with chunkier yarns.

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~ sweet thank you for your lovely words ~