Finished: Honey Cowl and Toasty

After the Peaks Island Hood disaster, I cast on right away for another one but my heart just wasn't in it. I got a few inches past the first shell pattern and just realized I was only knitting it because I felt I had to conquer it, not because I loved it. And lets face it, that's not a good reason to begin a relationship. I wasn't enjoying myself, either, and I also decided that the dark brown yarn I was using didn't show off the stitch pattern's texture to its best advantage.

So, I cut that project loose and cast on for a second Honey Cowl. My first one [Ravelry project page link] ended up belonging to my daughter, and I've been craving a nice squishy cowl to wear on evening walks so I decided to try again. Just in case anyone wants to use this pattern, it's free from the Madeleinetosh website [pattern link]. It's really a simple, straightforward pattern and gives such a quick result! I used single ply worsted merino wool from 100purewool.com, in the colorway Brown Lilac. It was really perfect for the pattern--the subtle color variation was played up by the slip stitch pattern.



I've seen many beautiful versions on Ravelry in Malabrigo and Madeleinetosh yarns as well. A semi-solid gives the most beautiful result, in my opinion! Anyway, I cast on for the largest size (it's wrapped twice around my neck in these photos), but I only knit about 8 inches instead of the 12 inches called for in the pattern--I used my nifty yarn scale to help me determine when I had approximately 50g left so I could make a matching pair of mitts.

I've enjoyed Leslie Friend's blog for a while (A Friend to Knit With) and I've had her Toasty [Pattern link] pattern in my queue forever, so it was fun to finally make them. I call them my hobo gloves, and they are so warm and snuggly!



The night I finished both of these projects, we went on a walk just before the kids' bedtime. There was just enough nip in the air from the marine layer that rolls in overnight, even 20 minutes from the beach where I live, that I was really glad for my new woolly accessories! (I've really got to teach my husband how to take knitting pictures...the one-armed look is getting repetitive, isn't it?)