Friday, April 13, 2012

Lantern Festival Cowl

I am a sucker for pictures of dinners, picnics, events held at dusk under pretty glowing lanterns. After seeing a particularly pretty picture of a bunch of Chinese Lanterns hung up for a festival I thought I would try to capture the idea in knit form. Here is my latest design, the..

Lantern Festival Cowl
This pattern is written for two sizes. The small is made using a fingering weight yarn on US Size 2 needles and the large is made using a worsted weight yarn on US Size 5 needles. The small hugs the face and neck while the large creates a large plush wall around the head. The bottom of the cowl has four gussets so it flares out, sitting nice and flat over the shoulders.

The pattern is sold through Ravelry (you don't have to belong to Ravelry to purchase) for $5.00.

Details about gauge and yardage requirements are included in the pattern.
In case you were wondering, the pictures were taken in the costume shop where I work. I have had little time to scout good picture taking locations, plus it's allergy season and I have no desire to spend time outside right now. So what you see in the first picture are bins and bins of ribbon, trim, beads, zippers, ect. The second picture, the one that looks like it as taken in front of a wall at Mood is taken in our fabric storage. I tell you this because knowing the treasures behind the boring background might make it a little more exciting. :) The last two pics are in front of some artwork in progress and I will have to leave it as vague as that unfortunately.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Pop Blossoms Cowl

Before Christmas I altered my Pop Blossoms Hat pattern to become a cowl for my dear sweet cousin.
I quickly slammed it out without any regard to yardage or measurements, so while it was successful and cute, I had no idea how much yarn I used or what the gauge was. When I got back to NY from my Christmas break (and yes I realize how ridiculous is is to be mentioning when I got back from Christmas while blogging in April) I worked up two more Pop Blossoms Cowls so I could get all those pertinent numbers. So here it is...

Pop Blossoms Cowl
This cowl is big and chunky. It doesn't hug your neck and face as much as it creates a plush wall around your head. It is knit using heavy worsted, Aran, or Bulky weight yarns on size US 9 circular needles.
The example with the gold background and maroon pattern was knit using Cascade Eco+ in Butternut Squash and 2 strands of Vanna's Glamour in Garnet.

The example with the green background and pink pattern was knit using Vanna Choice Solid in what I think was the color Fern and 2 strands of Vanna's Glamour in Rhinestone, the best sparkly hot pink yarn ever. The pink was next to impossible to capture correctly with my camera so if the wall behind the cowl looks oddly blue, that is my attempt to make the cowl colors look like they do in person. Failed attempt I should say because it still does not look as gloriously pink as it does in person.

The pattern is available by itself or in discount bundles (ebooks) with the Pop Blossoms Hat and/or Pop Blossoms Mittens through my Ravelry Store.

Up next, a change to the blog appearance and the Lantern Festival Cowl
Up soon because I am dragging my feet something fierce, the reworked Cylon Hat.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Hey Girl...

Handmade Ryan Gosling has always been the best of the "Hey Girl..." sites and this submission really takes the cake.


Thank You Ryan Gosling, I just hope other people like my Lantern Festival Cowl (coming soon!) as much as you do.