A Moo of Cow(L)s

So - the move is done. Mostly. There's still cleaning to be done, unpacking to be done, the usual detritus. But everything that must be moved across, has been. 

Funny thing about moving though. It always costs a lot more than you think it will. It always takes more time than you think it will. And there is always a lot more effort involved than you think there will be. 

Also, there's always hiccups along the way. Like Telstra. Oh yes. Let's not even go there, shall we?

So I can now share a couple of finished items, one of which was a gift I couldn't share earlier. 

A friend of mine proposed a 'sad mothers swap'. No deadlines, no massive budget, just a nice simple knitted item swap for those of us who have difficulty being involved in more traditional swaps because of strict deadlines that are often interfered with by the uh.. little people in life. 

I had some handspun singles of some Merino/Rose fibre, dyed by Mandie at Ewe Give Me The Knits. 

Heavenly soft, this stuff is just gorgeous, and being single spun it spun up into lovely, definitive stripes. Also being single spun means much more yardage out of one braid. 

I knit it up into a feather and fan cowl, and some Veyla inspired mitts. 

Cowls are one of my favourite things to knit. They are quick, can be textured, plain, lacey - you name it. With buttons, or without. Unlike a scarf, you can fold 'em up and stuff em in your back pocket. They are easy on and off for the constant shifts in temperature we enjoy around here. and you can make them snug, or loose, and if they are loose you can fold them over and secure with a shawl pin or a brooch or even a badge if you feel the need for a bit of extra warmth that day.

So I made another one. For me. 

It rarely happens that I see fibre and know exactly what it wants to be. But this one did. 

Purchased from Charly of Ixchel yarns and fibres at Bendigo sheep and wool was this wee 50g braid of Merino/Cashmere/Angora.

Which got spun up into 150 metres of 3 ply / Fingering weight yarn a couple of updates back. 

And has since become another feather and fan cowl, for me. 

Both cowls used pretty much the same pattern, but the first I knit on smaller needles, and threw a garter stitch round in there to take advantage of the stripey goodness. 

I love this shawl pin. You might have to tilt your head but it's a treble clef. 

Both cowls made with handspun, slight variant on the same pattern, both super warm and very soft. 

I like living in my tactile world, wherever it may be based. 

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