winter warmers
I know I said in my last post that I was ready to cast on for a large project, but I just had one more mini-project to finish up. And it’s a success!
Pattern: Burberry Inspired Cowl by Julianne Smith (Rav project page here)
Finished: 6 January 2010
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino, colour Ruby Port. I used 82g; less than one skein
Modifications: I worked this in a much finer yarn than the pattern called for. Worked five repeats.
I absolutely love this pattern, and even though I had doubts as to whether the Aran Silky Merino would be chunky and sturdy enough for the pattern, I decided to give it a go. From past experience I’ve found that the ASM stretches widthwise to a ridiculous degree, so I wanted a pattern that would compensate for this, without losing shape. The Burberry Inspired Cowl is perfect in this respect, as it’s worked sideways and then grafted at the end. Genius!
I’m even starting to get the hang of this self-portrait-in-the-mirror malarkey!
The UK is still in the grip of what is now known as ‘The Big Freeze‘ so this cowl has been very useful in keeping me toasty around the house.
I’d love to make this pattern again in a heavier weight yarn as recommended in the pattern, and this would actually work better, giving a very trendy oversize effect. However I just can’t imagine finding another yarn that’s as luscious as this, but I’ll be keeping an eye out.
Even though the colour is slightly different (but still named after booze!), the cowl goes quite well with my other recent Sundara project:
Pattern: Veyla by Ysolda (Rav project page here)
Finished: November 2009
Yarn: Sundara Sock, Colour Wine
Modifications: Followed the pattern as written. The cuffs are rather wide, so I moved the buttons over as far as possible. This helped a bit, but they’re still a bit floppy. Perfectly matching buttons from the lovely Button Queen in Marylebone.
I wear these around the office all the time, and have had loads of comments on them. (I find it really interesting to see what projects catch people’s attention). They’re not a whole heap of use when scraping snow off the car windscreen, but they’re just the thing for wearing inside at this time of year.