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Knitting Gadabout

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

My Gadabout cowl started out as an experiment.  I had some aran weight Debbie Bliss cashmere yarn in a natural color, leftover from a hat I knitted years ago.  I had just under 300 yards of it left and it was so soft that I wanted to knit something to wrap around my neck.

image from images4-d.ravelrycache.com

So I dyed it blue and went off in search of a pattern.  I swatched for a simple scarf, but didn't think the yarn had enough structure. I tried a Black Death shawlette.  It was a great pattern, but I wasn't feeling the love.  Then I saw , cowlThe Plucky Knitter's Gadabout and fell instantly in love.  I adore cables, and these are clever but simple to knit.  Best of all, you can memorize the pattern during the first 16 row repeat, making this the perfect portable knitting project.

Gadabout

This is a pattern that whispers to you "just one more repeat, your bed will wait."  It's almost impossible to put down.  

I'm about half way finished — my six 50 gram skeins limit how large I can make it.  The pattern itself has three panels of cables running up its length, but I wisely cut back to two out of fear of yardage and think this should work, as my gauge indicates I'll still be as wide as the pattern calls for, given the bulk of my yarn.

I love this pattern, and let's face it, I live for cashmere.  This is one of those rare patterns I feel sure I'll knit a second time.  If you're looking for something to cast on for this new year, this is it!

 

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Bad Things Happen When I Go Away

Posted on by Joyce Makes Art

I should have known it was going to be a bad trip, right?  For openers, within minutes of my getting on the first plane, husband sends a series of photos that demonstrate that my months of careful training of the puppy are all going out the window.  Immediately.

Figtable2

He taunted me with photos all week: dog on table, dog on bed, dog in the trash.  I should have known it was going to be a really bad week.  And it was, at least in a knitting way, because this is the last photo we're every going to see of my Ferryboat Mitts, knit in my beloved Plucky Knitter Trusty yarn in Corduroy.

Cordmitts

I finished the first mitt and started on the second the night before I left, hence the fabulously bad hotel room lighting photo.  But they were lovely.  I couldn't stop trying them on in progress.

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(Airplane lighting, even worse than hotel room lighting).  

I answered a work-related call in the Atlanta airport as my flight home was boarding.  Typically, I would have had better sense than to combine those two, but it was an important call.  By the time I sat down on the plane, I realized I didn't have my knitting.  A kind stewardess told me I had time to run back and get it. The gate agent wouldn't let me off, but said she would go get it.  Predictably, she came back 30 seconds later, telling me it wasn't there and that I had to get on the plane.

Despite the efforts of some kind Ravelers and other friends to track it down, my knitting is nowhere to be found.  So RIP wonderful mitts that would have kept me warm, along with my favorite copper stitch markers.  Somewhere around gate T3 in the Atlanta airport, my knitting is cold and lonely.  I feel sure it misses me.  And I feel really sad.