Tuesday, April 10, 2018

A Cloche and a Cowl

I tried again with a navy hat for myself; the previous one just couldn't hug my ears the way I wanted it to. Was it too big? Too small and thus sliding up?  It's a mystery to me.  There's stretch in the yarn, stretch in the stitches, and I'm baffled.  So I switched to a different pattern.

The Nola Cloche has a dramatic twist that appealed to me.  I struggled with understanding the twist (done like a cable), and got help from Christy and the hat designer herself.  Finally, I got the cloche done and the band was too loose for me while the top was too shallow!  But the hat itself was fine, so I chucked it over to the thrift store and started again.  This time, the hat fits perfectly, but I messed up my decreases at the top so it's a little lumpy.  I swan.  I might have to do it again, but not until next winter.


I taught my sister to knit back in December because she wanted to knit her boyfriend a scarf for Christmas.  I gave her some chunky yarn and needles to practice with, and when she knitted her practice square, I admired the yarn so much that I made it into a cowl when she was done with it (she made a great scarf, by the way!). 


The yarn was passed on to me by a neighbor who moved, so I don't know what its content is or anything.  I do really like the cowl (which I made up) and I especially like that I knit it in one day while I went with my parents to Virginia for a great-aunt's funeral.  Knitting is so slow, at least the way I do it.


Hopefully I will now jinx winter by posting this.  It's been an unusually cold spring; in fact, it snowed for several hours yesterday afternoon.  Even the kids were disgusted! We're all ready for warm weather.

9 comments:

Hazel said...

Love the hat and the cowl!
We've had a very cold spring in the UK too- so ready for some sun. My garden's squelchy, my chickens are cheesed off (although the ducks don't mind!) and I work with preschoolers and it's such a palaver going outside when it's raining all the time.

Judy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Judy said...

7:49 AM
I love your cowl especially. You can Google burn test fabric to see what your yarn is made of. It would probably be fun for the children to smell the results and help decide.

Christy said...

love love love. the hat, the cowl, the sisters together, and the needle holder. =)

Becky said...

I'm such a slow knitter. I just finished a sock for my girl that took way too long (at least in part due to the fact that I kept putting it down) that as I was about to finish, realized it was just completely wonky. So I ripped it all out and started over. I knit the cuff while driving home from the in-laws in Alabama last week, knit the heel over the weekend (twice! I realized I did it wrong, so I totally ripped it out and started over) and am now getting ready to knit the foot portion.

Your cowl is lovely! Here's hoping winter goes away soon.

e said...

It's chilly and wet here in the Pacific Northwest, but I think we are done with snow-- at least in the valleys. The mountains are still getting some and that's just fine. But, some sunshine would work wonders!

I am impressed by your knitting projects. I may be on the list of the world's worst knitters. Fortunately, I don't care! I can knit and purl, slowly, and if pressed can produce one scarf per winter. Lol. My daughter is a knitting whiz and makes all sorts of hats and socks and shawls and who knows what else. She doesn't get it from me...

(Also love your needle holder!)

Laurie L. said...

Your sister is also a very good soccer player too. :-) Just making the connection...

Margo said...

Laurie!! You are the second soccer-player-blog-reader who has realized I am Melanie's sister :) Cracks me UP.

Polly said...

I love the hat and the cowl! I say you did well with both.

And yes, WHERE IS SPRING?