C & C Replacement Cowl....

Replacement you may ask...sniff...yeah, my lost somewhereinthishouseIprayIwillsomedayfind Ohh Cashmere! cowl.

It's not cashmere, but trust me, it's *almost* as soft! I doubled the yarn to get more of a bulky weight and I really think it added to the plushness of it.
I wanted the 16 cable aspect to match my C & C 16 Cable Hat, but didn't want a collar-ish type of cowl, you know one that curls up under your chin. I wanted it scrunchy...one you could settle your chin into and be warm....

and scrunchy it is! A winner!

Hubby was laughing as I walked outside to get these pictures...picture me in snowflake flannel pj pants, white t-shirt, my wool coat and cowl.....wait for it....81 degrees...and no I'm not bragging, I want it to be cold! I am a displaced northern girl! It's February, supposed to be cold, not freaking AC weather!!! (keep yer fingers crossed peeps...we are still hoping...)





I'm an overachiever, I got a 2 colored cowl!

In hindsight, since I knit this with the yarn doubled, I should have used the 2 skeins separately as one has more black than the other, which being a handpainted yarn it happens. I usually don't sweat it in smaller handknits, but with sweaters, I always alternate.

This colorway is amazing, a black over burgundy/red and so very hard to capture...I love it very much!


C & C Replacement Cowl aka The Burberry Inspired Cowl
The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Worsted 1.93 skeins (approx. 15 yds leftover)
US 10 circular

No real mods I knit it until it was around my neck as I wanted and then probably 4 more rows so getting it on/off would be easy. It turned out to be 20" long.

If you hate kitchner stitching, don't bother knitting this, unless you want a seam and use a 3 needle bind off. It's 58 sts people!! I don't mind the K-stitch and towards the end, I was getting tired of it....well either that or the tremendous extra yarn I had to pull through to do it. Yes, I've run out of yarn K-stitching before, thus the extreme long tail I cut to sew/knit it.

Knitting 16 stitch cables isn't a lot of fun when you are a tight knitter. Why? Well those last 8 sts, the captive ones on the cable needle. (no way I'm cabling without a needle on this amount of sts...no...way!!) Howevah, my good ole pal Megan had a great suggestion. After you knit the first 8 sts of the cable, put the held remainder sts back on your left needle and knit away... *lightbulb moment* sure wished she would have reminded me about that when I was knitting the hat and most of this...

Now just patiently waiting for cooler weather to wear it...which could be Monday morning going to work, as this time of year going from 80 to 50 degrees in a day is common....hmmm

Take me back Thursday....Sock edition...

to March 2006, my very first pair of socks! Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the Lumberjack colorway! I learned a lot, and as you can see, I've not stop knitting them. I still wear them! They've held up very well!


I've also learned why you need a marker at the toe decreases ;)

My 2nd pair of socks didn't have the same fate! Although they are bright and cheery....they've just worn out and got a wee bit felted so they didn't fit any longer. :( I also usually always try to buy superwash sock yarns to avoid this problem. That and not allowing hubby near them ;)


All Things Heather sock yarn in Neopolitan, I miss them!!!

Frank's Paris Nights

I wish I could say they visited Paris....


These were hubby's Valentines present. He got them with a toe finished, but not kitchnered and a toe not finished at all.

You see I've only knit him 1 pair of socks and since he only wears them at home and not often, no wonder it's been over 3 years! He wore the heel out and they are um..er..acrylic and I'm not even trying to fix them...come to think of it, they are in the black hole of lost knits so I couldn't fix them if I wanted to...(I've lost 2 cowls in the past month :(

Toe pic!


Heel pic! I really love the ribbing down the back of the heel.


Got the daughter to model so you could see the neat patterning down the front....


and the back! Eek..I may have ended a heel sooner than the other...oh well ;)

Uncle Frank socks by Irishgirlieknits
Malabrigo Rios in Paris Night
1.5 skeins
US 4, magic looped (what else ;)

The yarn is awesome, for those that may not know, it's the superwash, worsted version of Malabrigo. It can be a little bit splitty, but the knitted fabric is awesome.

The pattern is really easy, it looks complicated, but it's not. I'm sure I'll be knitting a pair for me one day...unless hubby doesn't wear his, then I'll reknit the toes smaller ;)

ETA: Irishgirlieknits patterns are 20% off until Tuesday the 22!

YPF-Fiber edition

This is from the Oct/Nov Spin-a-long, behind I know, especially since I have the Feb/Mar to do now!


Autumnal Rite-Tom's Colorway
4 oz. Polwarth


I had some drafting trouble, totally me though. Still learning here :)

As I was halfway through plying as a 2-ply, I was wishing I had navajo plied it. But, one can't undo a plied bobbin. Well one can, but you have to be nuts to do so! ;)


It's so soft and poufy!! Thinking of something to knit with it. Maybe something with garter...hmmm...

When one has leftovers from plying, one practices navajo plying. Yes, one does that especially since my last one was a bit ropey, gorgeous, but stiff.

This....swoon, is so light, sproingy, and airy!!! Sadly only 20 yards, but who knows, it could be the brim of something!

Another look at the loveliness of navajo ply!

Practicing getting my singles thin enough so I can gain more n-ply yardage. One day it'll happen!

In the meantime, I'll enjoy what I make.

GLBLF 4 oz. Polwarth
170 total yards of 2 ply dk/worsted
20 yds of sport navajo ply

Funkified Toasts!

Remember my last post?

Now even more Funkified ;)



I couldn't think of a cool, funky shot...boring huh!


I really love how the colors turned out. I let it knit up however it wanted to be. What's going on with my type "A" ness ;)

Toast by Lesile Friend
US 7's
Funkified Eegads Handspun 109 yds

I cast on 30 stitches for the first one. Since I had 2 balls of yarn, I knit this one until I had just enough for bind off, which was 9.5". It was a little tight, but I was hoping after blocking it would fit better. It does a bit, and in the pictures they aren't totally dry, so I stuffed them with plastic bags to stretch this one out more.

The 2nd one I cast on 32 sts and it fits much better. I knit until 9.5" and had about a quarter sized ball of leftovers.

This yarn is sooo dense. I didn't like how it was knitting on 8's, but yikes! I guess I need to soften my navajo plying or something ;)

Love the cheery, bright colors. With my weather though, going to hang out in my fiber room as decorations until next year though :( Hoping she dyes more of this colorway, I want a hat!

YPF-Funky Handspun Edition

What started out like this...


Has turned into....


These awesome colors all together!


They are funky all together!


Well, since they are from Funky Carolina, they should be ;) Love her bright, vibrant colors!

2 skeins of BFL/Silk that was a dream to spin the singles. My most consistent single spin so far.

The navajo plying went pretty well too. I didn't break any singles, but I sure wished I had got more yardage. But I'm still a newbie singles spinner. Just when I think they are super thin...they aren't. I will be knitting these very soon.

Funkified Eegads
4 oz. BFL/Silk
109 total yards, navajo plied
worsted/light bulky weight
from Funky Carolina

Bitty Vera

What is Vera? Well Vera is a colorway I've always liked from Lorna's Laces yarns. See the yummy chocolate, creamy beige, and bright raspberry....making myself hungry now ;)



Toooooooo cute or what! I hope to see a modeled shot one day!

Bitty Bump by Gina Bomono
Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted, "Vera" Colorway
US 11 & 15 dpn/circs
Used approx. 180 yds, approx. 45 yds leftover

Mods: well, not sure if you call it one, but I doubled worsted yarn for the bulky weight. I wanted superwash and the only bulky that fit the bill wasn't so voila, double the worsted and there ya go!

I also picked up 8 stitches in the underarm area to ensure no holes. I slipped the first stitch at the beginning of each row (well I did forget a few times ;)

A cute, easy knit. I love it with the ribbon, but heck you could add a button too. No buttonhole needed either.

I think the patterns from the designer are really cute, sorta like wee grown up wear. I also think they will be perfect for handspun yarns too!

Ten on Tuesday

10 Favorite Oscar Winning Movies:

In no particular order....

1. The English Patient - huge crush on Ralph Fiennes....sigh, men with an accent ;)

2. West Side Story - I do like musicals :)

3. The Sound of Music - I loved it all, the singing, scenery, storyline....

4. The Silence of the Lambs - Clarice....... still gives me the chills!

5. Forest Gump - run Forest, runnnnnnnnn

6. Schindler's List - chilling definately, but a good story. Great acting too.

7. The Greatest Show on Earth - I like it :)

8. Terms of Endearment - much like Steel Magnolias, it's a hard movie for me to watch :(

9. Gone With the Wind - my favorite line..."Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn!"

10. Rocky - yo' Adrian!!

I do like old movies, and around here, we see lots of them, plus wartime ones. I have to admit, the last few Oscar winning movies I've had no desire to even see. Out of the last 5 winners, I've only seen bits of No Country for Old Men...

Now is my list of what should have been Oscar winning movies! ;)

1. Casino Royale - um..er...Daniel Craig ;)

2. Quantum of Solace - ditto Daniel Craig, he's my favorite James Bond.

3. Defiance - double ditto Daniel Craig, but I have to admit, when hubby and daughter wanted to see this at the theatre I said, meh..but went to spend time with them. Brought my knitting and started to knit...until you know who appeared on the screen. But seriously, this is a really good movie.

4. Steel Magnolias - I think Sally Field did a wonderful job in this. But the scene stealer was Shirley MacLaine....Weezer....

5. The Shawshank Redemption - in the end, Andy got out, and Ellis got to join him, and the Warden got his just desserts.

6. Star Wars - What are they up to now...like 77 ;) Nothing to me better than the original.

7. Vertigo - Love Alfred Hitchcock movies, this one was my favorite.

8. ET - ET phone home....

9. Psycho - again Alfred Hitchcock, chilling and for a while after I first saw it, taking a shower was a bit scary ;)

10. Saving Private Ryan - very realistic and sad scenes.

There you have it, maybe you've found one you've not seen yet...or not ;)