Tidal Cove Scarf

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This is Knitwise Design’s cleverly constructed Tidal Cove Scarf, available for download on Ravelry. And clever is no insult. This is “clever” as in Merriam-Webster’s “marked by wit and ingenuity.” What this photo shows as a series of folded-over triangles is actually a most interesting piece of knitting invention. I won’t spoil the surprise of how this pattern is constructed, but check out Linda’s model wearing Tidal Cove Scarf to see the full effect.

I purchased the decorative beads from one of the beading vendors at Hillman’s Brush Creek Mill during the Apple Days fall festival. And the yarn is Holiday Yarns’ Super Sheep, in their Hera’s Peacock colorway. It’s a Merino DK weight that Dorinda, of Alpena’s Yarns to Go, recommended. I’d not seen the yarn before and I am impressed. The blues and greens definitely evoke the tidal cove that the scarf’s design is meant to suggest.

It’s a bunch ‘o fun to knit!

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Vintage hooded cardigan in Wollmeise

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So, you start this project by watching for tweets. I’m not tuned in to tweets, unless they are emitted from our lake-side bird feeders, so in my case it’s catch-as-catch-can on The Loopy Ewe website. The Loopy Ewe is the only U.S. source for  Wollmeise. I click here and 99.9% of the time I read “Sorry, we don’t have any of these items in stock right now.” But every once in awhile, I get there before it’s all sold out.

Wollmeise is the brainchild and handchild of Claudia Höll-Wellmann. Here’s the address to her brick and mortar store:

Rohrspatz & Wollmeise GmbH
Andreas Wellmann
Poststr. 1
85276 Pfaffenhofen/Ilm

So, if I read the map correctly, Pfaffenhofen is not too far from Munich. Bottom line? My yarn traveled far before it got to my needles.

Claudia is known for her deeply saturated colors. I haven’t worked with it often, but check out my Color Affection, my kayak shrug, and Isaac’s Vauven Sukka and baby boots. When you nearly have to take out a mortgage to buy yarn you use up ever single yard of it. In fact, I have a one inch diameter ball of bright yellow left in my stash that I will use for something some day.

So, the brown is the barenstark colorway, merino DK superwash. It’s 468 yards to the skein and skeined up so tightly you could use the skein for self-defense in a pinch. I was concerned about the tight wind of the skein when I met my first skein. But it doesn’t damage the yarn.

I wanted to make a vintage cardigan for Isaac. His mom was totally on board with the idea. It took awhile to find the perfect pattern for this special yarn and special project, but Sirdar booklet 3976 “Cabled Cardigans” fit the bill. The photos in the pattern booklet are not snazzy. But I thought I saw that it had definite potential. Ravelry only has two projects knit from this pattern. And Ravelry soon will have 5 million members, so this pattern is basically the definition of obscure. It took a leap of faith to trust that old stand-by Sirdar would deliver an error-free pattern and a cool hooded cardigan.

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Deliver they did!

One of the comments my little sweater gathered in the Loopy Groupies group on Ravelry was that knitting for a child using Wollmeise must be one definition of love. It’s great yarn, for sure. Not really worth the price for merino, if we were being honest about it. But a 468 yard skein with no imperfections and only one knot. Great stitch definition. Deep color that stays put on the yarn, not on your hands. And all this in a superwash. It’s worth it (once in awhile.)

Here’s a view of the back.

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The back wasn’t pictured in the pattern. At first I was surprised that instead of cabling the pattern continued the simple textured stitch on the back. But I ended up thinking that was the right design choice.

You might like to see Isaac wearing his new sweater. Well, he was moving fast, but here he is, on his mom’s lap. The Prince of Flannel wasn’t happy about shedding his shirt for a sweater. And the sleeves need to be cuffed back for now.

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In a few years, I hope to find that this sweater is showing signs of hard use and multiple washings. There is no better compliment for a knitter than to find that the knits she’s made are worn to almost tatters!

Boot Cuffs

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Boot cuffs are the new accessory I didn’t even know I needed. Or wanted. They knit up quickly and make great gifts. Plus, they really can make boots look cool–like you’re wearing heavy fancy socks. These are knit in Brown Sheep’s Lamb’s Pride Superwash worsted. I’d never tried the superwash version of this yarn before. I was impressed. The colorway is a newer one–holly green.

This is a Kate Bostwick (Cowtown Knits) pattern: Jennifer’s Boot Cuffs. The pattern is clearly written, with no mistakes. I’ll be making these again.

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Well, that was quick. This pair of Jennifer’s Boot Cuffs is knit of Berroco Ultra Alpaca worsted. That’s the yarn that Bostwick recommends. They came out great. And there are a million color choices in this Berroco yarn.

As with all the boot cuffs, you can wear them on your legs, sticking them out of your boots. Or can put them on your leg inside-out and then fold them down over the top of your boots. Quite cozy.

Here’s a closer look:

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Some boot cuffs are a bit super-sized. They are best worn tucked into the boot and rolled back and in the larger version might just be worn over the boots to create a nice warm seal against the cold. These little gizmos do actually make boots warmer.

This is Simone Kereit’s (Owl Cat Designs) Hemlock Shade Boot Topper, knit in Orchid with Cashmere by Harrisville Designs. It’s an Aran weight 10 ply, in 70% wool, 25% mohair, 5% cashmere. It isn’t part of the Harrisville line-up any longer.

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During the recent Ravelry Gift-Along staged by the Indie designers on the site, I won a choice of one of Kereit’s patterns and this was my pick. It’s an unusual cable and quite fun to work. The narrow looping vertical cables are connected by horizontal bits of garter stitch. What little I know about hemlock has to do with Socrates and corrupting the youth of Athens. But these boot toppers are still quite nice and are probably inspired by the coniferous plant, hemlock, not death by poisoning.

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Finally, here’s a freebie in the midst of paid patterns: Codi Hudnell’s (Knit Grit) Hurricane Boot Cuffs. Mine are knit in Stonehedge Fiber‘s Shepherd’s Wool worsted. There’s a teeny hiccup in the pattern. If you just keep knitting 9 and purling 1 thoughout the rounds, as the pattern directs, you’ll not end up with the spiral hurricane look. At the start of each round, just be sure that your first purl is one stitch further along the line of purl bumps, and then the knit 9 works throughout the rest of the round.

bootcuffs I had to polish my boots for these photos, but it was worth it to show them off!

The Thinker

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No. Not the Thinker you’re thinking of. The Thinker, by Susan Villas Lewis.

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Susan designs under the name Stay Toasty and her patterns are available for download on Ravelry. Here’s another look at one of my new favorite hats. And then a view from the front and from the top because this hat is great any which way you look at it.

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My Thinker is knit in that new favorite yarn of mine: Plymouth Yarn Worsted Merino Superwash. Every stitch pops!

The Thinker pattern is clearly and intelligently written. I’ve found no errors and see none reported on Ravelry. It’s sized from newborn to adult large. Many knitters write that they found they couldn’t knit just one. And I couldn’t either. This is Isaac’s version, knit in the same yarn.

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