As soon as I cast off the shawl, I swatched for a new lace project, the Kuusk cowl, not because I wanted to see the gauge, but because I wanted to try out the pattern and nupps before jumping in.
The swatch was made with this cone of mystery fiber, which I then unraveled. I had to do 3 repeats of the pattern: the first time, this swatch here, I forgot to adjust the lace pattern for the fact that I wasn't knitting in the round, so I ended up with garter stitch lace. I then did a second repeat making sure to purl on the way back, but the weave was too open. So the third time I adjusted to a smaller needle size and decided I could handle the pattern.This tiny square I didn't want to reclaim, it was from yarn I had unwound from the outside because it was decolored and stained, but knit up, you could hardly tell. In any case, I think there is enough of this yarn so that I won't need this extra bit!
The actual cowl is made with a lucious 100% alpaca skein I got at the sheep and wool festival. I have decided I need more color in my life, and pink looks nice and warming. So a pink lacy cowl it shall be, just perfect for fall and winter.
I have a hard time selecting yarn for a project and not doubting my decision.
At the Sheep and Wool festival I bought two skeins of alpaca, 550 yards of it, in this pink and a purple. I didn't know which one to use for this cowl. In my mind I had an idea for a striped lace shawl, taking into account that the purple and pink go lovely together, but I just didn't find a pattern I liked enough... mostly because I don't actually think I'll wear a shawl, and also because I don't have the budget to buy one when I'm not sure about the result. So I decided to make a cowl, which I know for sure I will wear and the pattern was free.
Now I feel I'm having regrets, after knitting the swatch with the cone, I kind of wish I hadn't bought the purple alpaca lace, considering that I now have two very similar yarns in purple in my stash, and no chance to make my stripey dream. I can't unknit or frog, because the yarn is so grabby, and also I'm not sure I want to! I love the way the cowl is turning out, I just feel sorry for the lonely purple lace that will no longer have its chance to shine in a striped wrap of some sort.
I want to use the yarn on the cone... I feel like I'll be able to make one of those ginormous shawls without joining any ends or running out. Because I kind of know I won't wear a shawl, it won't necessarily matter if it isn't next-to-skin soft... But do I want to put in the effort for a lovely intricate shawl and then never wear it because it is scratchy? Does it even matter?
I hold onto the hope that there is some of this pink lace left over, so I can maybe include it in a future project with the purple alpaca. At the end of the day, I really like the way this pink cowl is turning out... so I'm happy for that, and I'm sure that once I'm wearing the cowl, I won't even think about this any more.
The swatch was made with this cone of mystery fiber, which I then unraveled. I had to do 3 repeats of the pattern: the first time, this swatch here, I forgot to adjust the lace pattern for the fact that I wasn't knitting in the round, so I ended up with garter stitch lace. I then did a second repeat making sure to purl on the way back, but the weave was too open. So the third time I adjusted to a smaller needle size and decided I could handle the pattern.This tiny square I didn't want to reclaim, it was from yarn I had unwound from the outside because it was decolored and stained, but knit up, you could hardly tell. In any case, I think there is enough of this yarn so that I won't need this extra bit!
The actual cowl is made with a lucious 100% alpaca skein I got at the sheep and wool festival. I have decided I need more color in my life, and pink looks nice and warming. So a pink lacy cowl it shall be, just perfect for fall and winter.
I have a hard time selecting yarn for a project and not doubting my decision.
At the Sheep and Wool festival I bought two skeins of alpaca, 550 yards of it, in this pink and a purple. I didn't know which one to use for this cowl. In my mind I had an idea for a striped lace shawl, taking into account that the purple and pink go lovely together, but I just didn't find a pattern I liked enough... mostly because I don't actually think I'll wear a shawl, and also because I don't have the budget to buy one when I'm not sure about the result. So I decided to make a cowl, which I know for sure I will wear and the pattern was free.
Now I feel I'm having regrets, after knitting the swatch with the cone, I kind of wish I hadn't bought the purple alpaca lace, considering that I now have two very similar yarns in purple in my stash, and no chance to make my stripey dream. I can't unknit or frog, because the yarn is so grabby, and also I'm not sure I want to! I love the way the cowl is turning out, I just feel sorry for the lonely purple lace that will no longer have its chance to shine in a striped wrap of some sort.
I want to use the yarn on the cone... I feel like I'll be able to make one of those ginormous shawls without joining any ends or running out. Because I kind of know I won't wear a shawl, it won't necessarily matter if it isn't next-to-skin soft... But do I want to put in the effort for a lovely intricate shawl and then never wear it because it is scratchy? Does it even matter?
I hold onto the hope that there is some of this pink lace left over, so I can maybe include it in a future project with the purple alpaca. At the end of the day, I really like the way this pink cowl is turning out... so I'm happy for that, and I'm sure that once I'm wearing the cowl, I won't even think about this any more.
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