FO: Ravelling Leaves Cowl

So! How obvious is it that I have no work this week?

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: my handspun
Needles: 4 mm KP circ

I did a quick search for cowl patterns and didn’t come across one that screamed “knit me!”, so I picked a lace pattern out of a stitch dictionary instead. The pattern was simple (I figured anything complex would get lost in the yarn’s irregularities), but I learned more about spinning by knitting it. Mostly by feeling the variations in consistency and twist, and paying attention to which spots felt nicer to knit with than others.

I only noticed a little bit of colour bleed when I washed the freshly-spun skein, but wow did it bleed when I blocked the finished cowl. The water was as dark as the yarn, and it stained the towel I used to roll the wetness out. It doesn’t seem to have lightened the yarn overall, though, and I did give it a quick soak in vinegar after the first bath. It should be fine. I hope.

By virtue of the yarn I used, I’m labelling this a Project Spectrum knit.

And speaking of Project Spectrum… green!

Fibre: Alchemy Fibre Arts merino roving
Details: 2 ply aran-weight, approx. 92 yards

This started off as a grab bag of two-foot-long strips of roving in eight different colours. I split each strip lengthwise, half for each bobbin; I knew the colours wouldn’t line up precisely when plied, which is what I wanted. It seems to have worked all right, and should stripe nicely when knitted.

Now, I think I need tea. I’ve had to give up caffeine because of gastrointestional issues, but that hasn’t ruled tea out. Some of the teas I like best are naturally caffeine-free, and for the rest, it wasn’t that hard to find nice decaf versions. I found a decaf black & green Earl Grey that’s particularly good–I think that might be what I’ll make right now.