Sugar & Ice Cowl

Sugar & Ice Cowl

After I posted the Sweet Strawberry Cowl, I had a few people ask me if the same thing could be done in the round. And while the Sugar & Ice Cowl is by no means the same as the Sweet Strawberry (I omitted the shaping and made it two-color with the leftover yarn from the Daisy Chain Cowl), it does share certain characteristics, including reversible mesh at the top and bottom of the piece. If desired, it could also be made one color by working the middle portion in a simple stockinette.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sunseeker (47% Cotton, 48% Acrylic, 5% Metallic Yarn; 237 yards [217 meters]/100 grams); #04 Silver - one skein (color A) & Schachenmayr Down to Earth Cotton (100% Cotton; 142 yards [130 meters]/50 grams); #35 Pink Peony - one skein (color B)

The back. Yup.

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 4, one 24" circular needle in size 7


Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 24 stitches = 4 inches on size 4 needles (roughly - the Down to Earth Cotton knits that on size 3s, but I'm not worrying too much about it. Also, this is for stockinette, and the slipped stitch pattern will have a wider gauge)

Using your color A yarn and your size 4 needle, cast on 160 stitches loosely, place marker, and join in round (please note: this design makes a cowl about 8 inches longer than the finished Sweet Strawberry. If you're looking for dimensions more like that cowl, I recommend using 20" circular needles and casting on 120 stitches to begin. The remainder of the pattern can be followed as written). Anyway, we're going to use a mesh pattern to begin with, which goes as follows:

Row 1: k1, * yo, k2tog; rep from *, end k1

Pretty Plum Cowl

Pretty Plum Cowl

I won't deny it - the entire motivation for this cowl was finding a nice way to knit up this beautiful, nicely-textured yarn. And I think that this particular combination of cables, stockinette, and an openwork lace suits the yarn's variegation well, and gives the piece a bit of visual interest without getting totally swallowed by the color changes. It's also a nice weight for spring!

A closer look at the cable-edged stockinette and lace pattern.

Yarn: Schachenmayr smc Cotton Bamboo Batik (50% Cotton, 50% Viscose (Bamboo); 131 yards [120 meters]/50 grams); #95 Plum Mix - two skeins

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 6, cable needle (cn) or double pointed needle for cabling

Notions: Tapestry needle, seven stitch markers

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches

And now that that's out of the way, let's get started! First, then, cast on 136 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Then, knit the following set-up rows, during which you'll be placing all of your extra markers. Oh, and you'll need the following notation:

bc (back cross): slip 2 stitches to cn and hold in back, k2, k2 from cn

Staghorn Fingerless Gloves

Staghorn Fingerless Gloves, with tweeting bird, to complete the natural vibe

Well, I'm still picking away at the same skein of yarn that I used for the Razor Shell Fingerless Gloves, and I'm still digging the results (and amazingly, even after finishing these bad boys, I think I'm still going to be able to put together a two-color cowl with the rest of my single skein). Anyway, this pair of fingerless gloves uses a basic stockinette and a pretty cable to create a bit of interest in the thumbs. And it's still such a lover-ly green!

Just one hand.
It looks lonely, doesn't it?

Sizes: smaller (for a hand roughly 7 1/2" - 8" in circumference at the base of the thumb) and larger (for a hand roughly 8 1/2" - 9" in circumference at the base of the thumb) - directions for larger size will follow those for the smaller size in parentheses

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (50% Superwash Wool, 20% Super Fine Alpaca, 30% Nylon; 433 yards [400 meters]/100 grams); #12177 Kaffir Mix - one skein

Needles: One set of double pointed needles (dpns) in size 2, one set of dpns in size 1, cable needle (cn)

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 30 stitches = 4 inches

Using your size 1 needles, cast on 56 (66) stitches loosely, and distribute between your three double pointed needles as follows: 20 stitches on your first needle, 16 stitches on your second needle, and 20 stitches on your third needle (for larger size: 20 stitches on you first needle, 26 stitches on your second needle, and 20 stitches on your third needle). Join in round. Then, we'll knit the following ribbing row:

Ribbing Row: * k1, p1 *