Improv Cowl

Finally finished the improvised cowl for my mother in law. Although I had been planning on a scarf, after I had made a giant I cord out of most of the skein, it just seemed to make more sense in a cowl. 

I really hope this is actually attractive! So far, only Mike, my dad, and my brother have seen it. And they're not exactly experts on women's fashion...

I used size 13 needles to make the I cord out of bulky yarn. The skein was in my moms stash unlabeled, so I'm not sure what brand or yardage it is! Then I sewed it into a coil from the back using using leftover yarn. Well...I did what I think is sewing...not exactly a sewing expert...but it looks like it'll stay together!!! 

Not exactly the most complicated work, but I'm proud that I did it myself :) 

Random Thought

Think about it.

Making I-cords is just really tiny knitting in the round.

Currently improvising an I-cord scarf for my future mother in law...hope it turns out OK!

Ruthie

Cowl Time

Yay! I can finally post about my finished cowl :)

After I got home yesterday,  I was informed that our internet was broken. I was not a happy camper. I spent the past two days in the car with Mike. I flew up to New York after his final exams were finished so that I could join him on his drive back to STL. It was a lot of fun! No one wanted to kill each other, so I'd call that a success!

Now for the finished product....

Post and Rail Cowl from Cascade Yarns

Ugly seam...but will get better next time :)

Overview:

Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/post-and-rail-cowl-c217

Yarn: Cascade 128 Superwash, <1 skein each color

Challenges: changing color every row

Things I learned:

1. Use smartphone camera to see contrast between two colors.
2. Understanding how and why pattern works is helpful.

I got the yarn and pattern for the Post and Rail Cowl at Hearthstone Knits in South County, STL. It took maybe 2/3 skein each color. Georgia at Hearthstone recommended using two colors with high contrast. She even showed me a cool trick to see how much they contrasted. If you take your smartphone and open open your camera, turn it to a black and white filter. Act like you're taking a picture of the two colors next to each other. Through the black-white filter, one one color should be nearly black and the other nearly white. I was debating between blue and a darkish green or blue and grey. Using the camera, I could see that the blue and grey had a better contrast.

Although I haven't done much colorwork, knitting this was a lot of fun and simple. Over the past year, I've decided that knitting in the round is way better than knitting flat. Purling is just too much effort, and in the round knitting gives you a nice, quick, all knit stockinette stitch. How lovely. For this pattern, you switch colors each row. Mom showed me how to twist the colors tightly at the end of each row to avoid ladders. You can definitely tell where the rows end and it's a little wonky, but overall much better than other colorwork I have tried. The wonky-ness may have been from slipping a stitch on the first row right after switching colors. I think for me, getting better at this will be a matter of practicing.

Another thing I did was really study the pattern. I've found that it help to understand how and why the pattern works. I was able to memorize this pattern quickly, and in my experience it leads to fewer mistakes when I really understand it. For instance, the main body of this cowl was 16 rows repeated twice. Those 16 rows are really 2 sections of 8. The second section is the same as the first, but shifted over two stitches. I don't know if this is something that other knitters do or if my explanation makes any sense at all, but it really helps me.

I would highly recommend this pattern! This finished product is really cozy and warm. It's not constricting around the neck and the yarn is very soft. And it's pretty cute!

Happy last minute Christmas shopping!

Ruthie

Frustrations of a Knitter

There's nothing more maddening than finishing a knitting project on the road with no scissors or yarn needle. I JUST WANNA TRY ON MY NEW PRETTY COWL!!! 

What's First?

Hi there!

My name is Ruth(ie) and I'm 21 years old, but have an old soul.  I will be graduating in May from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics. After that, I will be moving to Boston with the love of my life, Mike. He'll have a job working as a Software Engineer because he's a smarty-pants. Besides cheering him on and planning our wedding, I don't know what I'll be doing. I'm really passionate about and am good at many things, but can't find a career that feels like it fits. Thus, I'm doing the most logical thing and starting a blog!

I'm using this blog to document my journey to become the best knitter I can be. I've been knitting off and on since I was in second grade. My grandma Rose was knitting me an afghan as my First Communion gift, and she enlisted me to help. Yes, I helped make my own present. But every time I see that little yellow afghan, I think about my grandma and smile. She's still knitting up a storm to this day! After that, my mom took over my knitting education. I went through phases growing up, but I didn't really take off with it until summer 2011.  Now, I knit whenever I can! Unfortunately, it's not as much as I would like. I started playing piano at the ripe old age of 6, and in the past, doing both has been too much for my carpal tunnel syndrome afflicted wrists. But now, I have learned how to take care of them and I'm ready to take up my needles for good :)

The blog's name is a nod to both of my grandmothers. Rose, who first taught me how to knit, and Ruth, who I was named after. I hope that it can inspire other young women to take up knitting and provide some fun along the way.

Thanks for reading!

Ruthie