Finished Object - GAP-tastic Cowl

I have just finished knitting the GAP-tastic cowl by Jen Geigley.

It's design is inspired by one she saw sold in GAP, hence the name.

Its a very simple cowl, knitted in moss stitch which gives it a lovely texture, however as you can see it is very long and thick for a cowl, I had to use 3 skeins to get the right width! It was actually quite repetitive to do because it was just moss stitch knitted in the round which made it quite a boring project to knit.

It's knit in chunky though so at least you can see it taking shape quickly.

I used Malabrigo Chunky in Polar Morn, the same colour I used in my Orchids and Fairy Lights hat, but the chunky has a lot more variation in its colour then the worsted weight. It's gorgeous and soft yarn though, and I love the colour variation on it.

Considering it is about to snow tomorrow I think I finished this just in time and love how warm and snuggly this is. Despite how tedious this was to knit I loved the way it turned out and can't wait to pair it with my hat! 

Finished object - Orchids & Fairy Lights hat

I actually finished this hat a few weeks ago, but have only just got round to taking pictures of it.

It is the Orchids & Fairy Lights hat by Tiny Owl Knits.

I used Malabrigo Worsted in the colour Polar Morn.

The pattern calls for 4.5mm needles, but I went up to 5mm to get gauge.

I wish the hat was a bit slouchier, I think I could probably achieve that if I blocked it, but the thought of blocking terrifies me!

The pattern was very easy to read and was quite straightforward.

This is my first knitting project with cables and bobbles, it's also the first time I've used circular needles so I've learned a lot knitting this hat!

It took a couple of weeks to knit, and I had to concentrate a lot whilst knitting it.

 It wasn't difficult, there was just a lot going on with the cabling, that and a lot of the techniques where new to me so I had to take my time.

I love the way this hat turned out, and I would recommend it to anyone. I also love Malabrigo, its very warm and fluffy and I love the colour.

Yarn Haul

At the weekend I went to iKnit in London with Rachel (allthingsrach) and Estée (essiebutton).

I wasn't really meant to pick up any yarn, because I was waiting on the Malabrigo to come, but out of the corner of my eye I saw this gorgeous ice cream coloured yarn that I just had to have.

It is a fingering weight yarn by Araucania and is 100% sugar cane, I didn't even know you could make yarn out of sugar cane!

It is incredibly soft and I think it cost £9.99. 

If I can't think of another project for it I will be using it on my Beekeepers Quilt.

The Malabrigo I ordered as I already had projects I wanted to make with them.

I ordered them from Fabstract, which I was a bit dubious about ordering from because I couldn't find anyone who had purchased from them, but I went ahead anyway and I'm glad I did because I actually received the package the next day! I was super impressed with the service.

I got the Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn to make the Orchids and Fairy Lights hat, which is the current knit along on the Tiny Owl Knits group.

I'm very excited about this project, but quite nervous as well because not only is it my first project on circular needles, it's also my first cable project.

I thought it was out of my skill range, but as some one said to me, if you know how to knit and purl you can do anything, just take your time, so I'm very excited about this challenge and will be casting on tonight!

I also got the Malabrigo Chunky in Polar Morn to make the GAP - Tastic Cowl to keep me warm now that its getting to freezing point in the UK.

The chunky weight on Fabstract is buy two get the third free at the moment so a great excuse to buy and very helpful for me because although the pattern says you only need two balls, a lot of people commented that to get the right thickness they would've had to use three.

The Malabrigo itself is gorgeous. It is 100% Merino wool so it is very soft and buttery, and I can imagine it is going to be lovely and warm to wear.

One thing to note about it though is there is a lot of colour variation, the chunky in Polar Morn looks a lot different to the worsted in Polar Morn, although they are both gorgeous colours.

I can't wait to get stuck in to these new projects!

Malabrigo chunky in Polar Morn

Malabrigo worsted in Polar Morn

Araucania