it’s cooked, but I’m a goose

I’ve been wearing cowls and neckwarmers constantly this Winter.  I’ve found them particularly useful in the office, where the air conditioning seems to blow a steady stream of air down the back of my neck (seriously, there’s an invisible vent just above my desk).

Thinking ahead to various hiking adventures next year, I wanted something that was going to be extra-toasty warm. As soon as I received my copy of Lynne Barr’s Reversible Knitting a couple of months ago and spotted the Folded Fabric stitch pattern, I knew I’d found just the right thing.

There has been considerable online promotion of the book over the past few weeks, and it’s very well deserved; in Lynne Barr’s signature style there are so many creative and interesting stitch patterns to intrigue any knitter.  No need for me to review the book as plenty of others have already done so.

After deciding on the Folding Fabric stitch, I modified the version that’s used in the Folded Mini Dress in the book, but worked over a 6 stitch, rather than 8 stitch, repeat.

The project got put away several times, as I worked on various other projects, and finished my degree of course.  (According to my Ravelry project page, I started this on October 3.)  Last week I pulled it out again, determined to finish it off.  I’ve been dying to wear a new red scarf for weeks!

The resulting Hills and Valleys Cowl isn’t exactly true to the stitch pattern as I sort of fudged things as I went along, changing the length of the repeat.  I took it off the needles, gave it a wash, and laid it out to dry.

I then pulled out the book for the first time in weeks, and had a look at the stitch pattern again; it looks nothing like my cowl.  I checked Ravelry, and it seems there is a mistake in the pattern; damn!  The result is still interesting, if not what I had intended.

I looked at my soggy wet cowl and wondered why my gauge had changed so much during such a small project; there’s a definite flare at the bottom.  Maybe my tension was different after consuming alcohol at knit nights?  I checked my needles, and then it dawned on me.  What a goose!  I’d started off using 4.5mm needles, but somehow had switched to 3mm mid-way.  I think I must have pilfered the needles for another project and completely forgotten.

I think this definitely has potential to be a nice toasty warm cowl.  The yarn has now been frogged while I think about re-knitting.