Porcelain Moon Cowl

Porcelain Moon Cowl

Okay, I know the name for this one is goofy. But the design reminds me of something between fine china and Sailor Moon, and I don't have a name for the stitch, so I got stuck. And, either way, it's a closer-fitting, quick-knitting cowl that gets a bit of a different look from the faux-bow gather of the front.

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Solstice (70% Organic Cotton, 30% Wool; 100 yards [91 meters]/50 grams); #2346 Faded Teal – one skein (color A) & Skacel Urban Silk (80% Silk, 20% Cotton; 93 yards [85 meters]/50 grams); #01 Cream – one skein (color B)

Needles: One 16" or 20" circular needle in size 8

Notions: Tapestry needle, 3 stitch markers

Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches (roughly - my two skeins are slightly different gauges, but I'm not worrying about it)

Using color A, cast on 117 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Next, purl 9, place marker, and purl until you're 9 stitches from the end of the round. Place a second marker, and purl until you reach the end of the round. Purl two more rows, slipping additional markers when you come to them. And now, it's time to begin the pattern, which goes as follows:

Row 1: using color A, knit until two stitches before first marker, k2tog, slip marker, and knit until second marker. Then, slip marker, ssk, and knit til end of round

Flemish Block Cowl

Flemish Block Cowl

As soon as I saw this yarn, I was in love. After all, it's ridiculously soft, delightful to knit, and a pretty pink color to boot (well, my four-year-old says it's "too pink", but he also thinks racquetball is called "rocketball," so I'm not giving him too much credit). Anyway, the challenge I had after buying this yarn was finding a decent way to knit it up. And after rejecting not one, but TWO two-color designs and ripping out false starts at least four times, I came up with this voluminous and luxuriously soft spring knit, that could also be made a few inches shorter if you wanted something with a little less bulk around the neck. But let's get on to the pattern, eh?

The Flemish Blocks

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Pure Alpaca (100% Baby Alpaca; 220 yards [200 meters]/100 grams); #3055 Strawberries & Cream – one skein 

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size US 7

Notions: Tapestry needle, 3 stitch markers

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches

Cast on 119 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Then, knit one row in a * k1, p1 * pattern, placing one marker after you've worked 37 stitches, and the next marker 45 stitches later (so this marker should be 37 stitches from the end of the round) (and yes, since you're knitting a * k1, p1 * pattern, you will have two knit stitches together on either side of the round marker, since we have an odd number of stitches). Purl one row, and then complete another * k1, p1 * row like the first, slipping extra markers when you come to them on both rows. Then we'll go straight to the pattern, which is a combination of Flemish Block Lace from page 270 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and a simple lace pattern. So let's get started!

Stripe and Spot Cowl

Stripe and Spot Cowl

At some point, I think I made an unconscious decision to knit something for everyone who works at my kids' preschool. And this particular piece is intended for a certain Miss Mary, who requested something a little bit warm and a little bit fun. So here's what I came up with - a nice weight for our frosty spring!

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Worsted (100% Pure New Wool; 210 yards [192 meters]/100 grams); #202 Aran – one skein (color A), Cascade 220 Superwash (100% Superwash Wool; 220 yards [200 meters]/100 grams) #1942 Mint - one skein (color B), and #1960 Pacific - one skein (color C)

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 7

Notions: Tapestry needle, 3 stitch markers

Gauge: 20 stitches = 4 inches

Using color A, cast on 120 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit one row in a * k1, p1 * pattern, placing one extra marker after working 57 stitches, and another extra marker 5 stitches away from that (so the first marker should be 57 stitches from the beginning of the round and the second marker should be 58 stitches from the end of the round). On your next row, use a * p1, k1 * pattern, slipping extra markers when you reach them, and then knit one more row like your first, also slipping the markers (so you'll have three rows of seed stitch). Then we'll switch to our pattern, which is a total bastardization of Stripe and Spot Pattern from page 56 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.