My friend Em said that this Albers cowl is “how Lolly got her [knitting] groove back”… and she is right. Not that I totally lost it, but my knitting production has been a little slow. This project’s simplicity, modern design elements, and history was the perfect match for my desire to stash bust some of my fingering weight yarns. It really appealed to me, and it was such a great knit – can’t wait to make more! Ann Weaver of WeaverKnits (Ravelry link) had this great design idea, inspired by the “Homage to the Square” body of work by Josef Albers.
3 squares – made up of other squares. It’s just so meta! Choosing the colors from my stash was just as much fun as knitting the simple garter stitch squares. Row upon row of, building a wearable accessory. Lolly the builder. I didn’t pull out my T-square, but I did use the tool of my trade: yarn and needles!
I choose my yarns on texture – I went for 2 or 3 ply yarns with a sheen and sproingy quality. I wanted to play with some palettes, so I used the following yarns for each block (inside out)
Block 1: Cherry Tree Hill – Louet Gems, Louet Gems, Koigu KPPM
Block 2: Louet Gems, Cherry Tree Hill, Three Waters Farm
Block 3: Shibui Sock, Louet Gems, Claudia Hand Painted, Koigu KPPM
There will be more squares in my future. This project refined my “picking up stitches” technique, and now I am itching for more. A larger scale version (worsted weight on size 6 or 7 needles?) would make a great baby blanket… or even a rug…
This project was a rainbow of colors and fit well into this year’s Project Spectrum time frame. Today is the last day for reds and oranges, and with some of the leftovers (a stashbust within a stashbust!), I whipped up this pair of orange baby booties for my as yet-to-be determined nephew/niece, due in October. It would be great if I find the fortitude to make a color-themed pair a month for the new baby… my own personal challenge.
Better plan my GREEN pair next!
Oh I made a pair of baby booties for Red as well. I like the idea of making a pair for each month of Project Spectrum!
When I saw that first pic I thought “Wow, she knit three cowls? That is REALLY getting your groove back!”… haha…. but then I realized it was all one pretty cowl
Wow, what a cool concept! And it looks great, too!
AH! I’ve never thought of constructing a cowl from squares! My mind is flooding with possibilities!
Have you tried Leethal’s (Lee Meredith’s) method of picking up stitches along the side of work? I first tried it during her recent shawl mystery KAL and looooooved it.
LOVE that cowl!
That’s a super cute cowl!
that is a spectacular cowl! i want to wear it in a log cabin while knitting a log cabin afghan.
i have officially added it to my ravelry queue.
The cowl is awesome, and I can see that it definitely has the power to return mojo. Lovely! I’m looking forward to the green month. I didn’t get much accomplished in May, but I’m hoping to improve this month!
gorgeous cowl!! I really love it! Glad you got your groove back!
Would you be willing to share your newly refined picking up stitches technique? Your cowl is beautiful with amazingly crisp picked up stitch lines. Mine…not so much. To say my stitch lines are merely wonky would be kind. Sometimes I can claim (at least to myself) that the wonkiness is a ‘design element’ but that’s not very convincing for a log cabin-ish square.
“How Lolly Got Her “Knitting” Groove Back”. I love it. I can see how that cowl did it for you as well. That looks like so much fun to knit. Beautiful!
My shawl is not nearly so far along as your cowl, but I am getting my garter stitch mojo on with the Mitred Crosses. Something about all the garter stitch is super soothing and I love seeing it in your cowl.
What a cute cowl! And a great way to use up small scraps of yarn! It looks like a lot of fun to knit too.
Please, oh please, knit a pair of booties for each month. That would be BEYOND. LOVE your blog. xx