Finished Object Friday

I want to focus for a bit on something that is going well. I am becoming more accustomed to how the ashes-of-roses shawl blocked, and how it looks. I take a great deal of pride in the things I knit, and want them to look perfect. I don’t like the way this looks, and even though several people have told me it’s fine, I'm still not so sure, though it is growing on me. Having never wet blocked alpaca before, I didn’t realise what would happen when I did, and it has made me cautious about doing it again.

But like I said, I want to focus on something going well. I finished one of the honey cowls that I’m making for Christmas. That means one holiday present down, 15 left to go! Woo hoo! I only need to block the cowl, and it’s done. And yes, I will wet block it, but it’s wool, superwash wool, so I don’t expect it to blossom quite the same way the alpaca did.

I am also hard at work on the next honey cowl, and am nearing the end of the first skein of yarn. And I changed me mind about one of them: I had planned to use fathom, but decided that while it is beautiful, it’s too dark and doesn’t show the colour variations that make Tosh so intriguing. So I’m making that one in Betty Draper’s Blues, which is one of my favourite colourways in the Tosh catalogue. I started casting it on, but have decided to wait until I’m done with the one I’m making in burnished, since I like those needles a bit better because they have a longer cable (yeah, yeah, I could buy a Knitter’sPride in the longer cable, but I’m saving money (yeah, right!)). I’ve even made a chart of all the things I want to knit by the end of the year. In my head I think of it as my Holiday Presents Chart, but there are things on it that need to be done long before the winter holidays, like Jayson’s scarf, which needs to be done by July, which is when I’ll see Jayson next.

So, what’s a blog post without a few pictures? First, the finished honey cowl itself. Done in Madeline Tosh DK, Cove.

It still needs to be blocked, but it looks good!

In this detail, you can see where the skeins changed. I am going to be very careful from now on when I knit with Tosh.

The ashes-of-roses shawl, done in Cascade Bulky Baby Alpaca.

This is a shot done before the blocking.

These are after blocking. It is growing on me, I have to admit.

Finally, a different shot of the gradient cowl, Shibui Silk Cloud.

Taken before blocking.

And a picture of Marilyn, the happy recipient, and me.

There are other things on the needles, but I will wait to do a WIP Wednesday (or some such) post later next week. Right now, I'm pleased with my output and how the holiday knitting is getting done.