Slim pickings on the coffee table this month. I’m just unpacking my WiPs after their Christmas hibernation and, as predicted, I’ve finished a few projects over the holiday period.
The largest finished project is Briochette, my first brioche project. I’ve written about it here, including what I learned and the mistakes I made.
Beginners Brioche Cowl by Lavanya Patricella available to buy on Ravelry
Whilst knitting Briochette I also started and finished a Beginners Brioche Cowl.
Knitted in chunky yarn this was a fast project and an excellent first brioche pattern. Mine came out slightly larger than the designer specifies but is no worse for it. You can read about it in the Gallery.
Myssoni by Susan Ashcroft available to buy on Ravelry
Another larger project is Myssoni. A one ball shawl in a striking feather and fan pattern. I enjoyed knitting this one and I loved blocking it! It needs a really could stretch to open up the holes and it’s a magical transformation. You can see more photos and blocking advice in the Gallery.
I also finished my striped cowl using Rowan Felted Tweed Colour. I’ll write that up next week as I made the pattern up and I still need to write it down. 😆
And my final finished project is my Crazy Zauberball socks (shade 1507).
These are for a friend and were one of my oldest WiPs. She chose the colour of yarn in 2017. I knitted the first sock in 2019. I probably cast on the second sock immediately after (in an attempt to thwart Second Sock Syndrome) but then it languished in a project bag until the middle of last year when I picked it up again.
These are knitted using my favourite technique. I split the 100g ball of yarn into two 50g balls. I then knit 5 rows from each ball to force the yarn to stripe differently on the leg. You don't need to cut the yarn, just carry it loosely up the inside of the sock.
This time I knitted the foot all from one ball, mixing up the stripe effect further.
I first saw the 'technique' used in Tofutrulla's pattern Magic Socks (available for free on Raverly).
However, the second sock (on the right) is full of careless mistakes! The biggest one is the heel - I didn't knit enough rows! I also split the heel wrong. It was not knitted over half the stitches and in the end I had more stitches over the in step. This all impacted the gusset decreases. It still looks and fit like a sock... but not my finest work!
Only one new project this month. This is a yet to be released pattern from Georgia Farrell, part of the new Rowan Spring Summer collection to be released in February. It is a shawl knitted using Rowan Summerlite 4ply cotton held together with Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Really like the feel of the fabric and the colours are lovely together.
Also on the horizon, if not on the needles, a Brioche hat and more garments! The Gallery is looking a bit shawl heavy at the moment. 😆 So I've dusted off my Sami jumper (first seen in April).
I'm also back working on another pair of socks. I'm using Opal 4ply sock yarn shade 9985 in the Joy range. I'm just using a basic cuff-down pattern. There is a free one in the shop or you could try this one on Ravelry.
And my Jessica Jones Cowl is out. This cowl is inspired by the one worn by Jessica Jones in the Netflix show. The pattern is by Handmade by Smine on Ravelry or Etsy. I've added more stitches as I wanted a looser single loop. I'm using Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply in Denim. It's a semi-solid hand dyed merino. Combined with linen stitch, you get a lovely effect as colours overlap imitating a woven fabric.
