The Not-Simon Cowl

Involving the brave new world of knitting design, misunderstood accessories and feline models.



So here it is, my first 'proper' downloadable knitting pattern.  Best of all, it's FREE!  Just click here  to enjoy the warm glow of money-less crafty shopping!  Bask in the smug thrill of knowing that you've fed your knitting habit without spending a penny!  Gaze in wonder at the beautiful download appearing on your desktop for exactly 0 monetary outlay!

(And then return and buy lots of other patterns for real money, because I've got a cat to feed, haha).

Speaking of cats...   Who is this dapper fellow modelling my cowl?

Isn't he handsome?  I would use him for all my modelling needs - except that a lot of my other stuff is baby clothes.  I've descended far enough in to Crazy-Cat-Lady-ness, I think knitting baby clothes and then putting them on the cat would be a level of crazy I couldn't come back from...  

So, the beautifully modelled cowl is my first and FREE design available to download. (Did I mention that before?).  The pun title comes from a very predictable confusion stemming from a non-unexpected lack of women's accessories by The Boyfriend.  In short, it is a Cowl (basically a circular scarf) and not a Cowell (a repugnant peddler of dross, whom I would not wish to have wrapped round my neck).

Here's my 'official blurb'...

This cowl is designed to show off the best of two shades of variegated wool, blending them together to create lovely colour shifts all along the finished piece.  

The deep rib makes for a wonderfully practical neck warmer – you can wear it pushed down deep into your collar for a simple, elegant look, but as soon as a chilly wind strikes you need only tug at the top and – voila! – it expands up to cover your ears and chin too.  Invaluable for sneaky seasonal weather when you don’t want to bundle up in a massive scarf, but still want to be prepared for sudden cold snaps.  

I had beginners very much in mind with this pattern - I know that when I was starting out I found it really aggravating that all the cowl patterns I could find seemed to be either in the round or involve grafting, neither of which I felt confident about.  I've designed this to be knit flat in one piece, with some sneaky tricks to avoid the difficult stuff`!  This is a guaranteed no-scare pattern!

Sketches - Harry and The Cat

Just a couple of sketches by me - one of Harry the dog, which I gave to his people as a moving present, and one I attempted this evening.  I didn't get very far because *someone* got up and sat on my sketch book in the middle!

Everyone's a critic...

Harry!

Knitting Maps - How Hard Could It Be?

In which Wren learns a valuable lesson about her own limitations, and finds a novel use for The Cat's ears...

Two squares here - one is the second one I knitted, the other is the most recent.  The (quite obvious) thing they have in common?  They're both maps.  (I'm pretty sure you'll have managed to work that one out for yourself...)  They were chosen for the Boyfriend Blanket as they are both very special places for him.

These also provide a useful illustration of the extremely common practice of mine - getting far too ambitious about what I can actually practically achieve.  "Oh!" says I "Of course I can knit a sofa sized blanket.  How hard could that possibly be?"  "Oh, knitting a map of Australia into an Afghan square is a great idea, how hard could it possibly be?"*  Now, to an experienced knitter, the answer is probably "Not hard at all, shut up Wren, you simpleton".  But I'm still on (just) 6 months knitting experience, and this probably was quite a bit beyond me.

However, I think they came out really well - this is really testament to the designs, which were both excellent.  The intarsia was definitely tricky - the coastlines are very fiddly! - but I discovered a useful form of assistance.  The Cat was, as usual, sprawled out over my lap during the entire process - snoring loudly and generally getting in the way.  I struck upon the genius idea of using the top of his head a yarn divider, placing the wool 'tails' on either side of his ears to keep them separate.  He was gainfully employed for once (albeit asleep), and I kept my wool neat and tangle free.  I really wish I could have taken a photo, but he had me firmly pinned in place...

This is the Australia map - it even has Tasmania there at the bottom!  The pattern is by Sarah Bradberry and is available for free from her fab site Knitting-and.com.  She has tons of free patterns there, it's well worth a look.  Her version uses seed stitch for the ocean - it looks really pretty, but I kept mine in plain stocking stitch to fit in with the look of the rest of the blanket.

And here's the British Isles map - once again, the detail is fabulous - it even has a tiny Anglesey! Amazing how you can show so much with so few stitches...  The pattern is by Marilyn Wallace and available for free on her Knitting Heaven On Earth blog.  I was a bit worried when I started this as the pattern is written, not charted, and I always worry about not being able to see exactly where I'm 'heading'.  However, as you can see, the pattern knits up perfectly!

The Australia Map is knitted in Hayfield Bonus Chunky 936, and King Cole Chunky 936.
The British Isles Map is knitted in King Cole Chunky 557 and 936.

*See also: "Oh! Doing a full time Masters degree and working full time at the same time, how hard could it possibly be?" "Oh! Finishing writing my thesis in the 2 months following a shoulder replacement, whilst starting a new job, how hard could it possibly be?" etc etc etc...

Knit knit knit...

In which the cat commits a heinous crime, and my attempts to resolve the situation leave me committed to a massive new project...

So, I have a new boyfriend.  Well, he's not quite so new at this point, it's been a few months.  But he is very lovely.  He also has a lovely house.  In that house is a lovely sofa.  On that sofa was a lovely crocheted blanket.  Then The Cat visited.  I think we can all tell where this is going.

Apparently as they age, cats find it more and more difficult to retract their claws.  And I'm sure The Cat did not mean anything more sinister than a nice stroll across the back of the sofa.  However, having heard a scuffle and a thud, followed by some pitiful yowling, we rushed into the living room to discover him completely cocooned in what had formally been a very smart blanket-throw.  The previous tasteful and neat decorative holes formed by the crochet had now been transformed into less artistic rents, roughly the length and breadth of a cat's leg.

Lovely boyfriend was lovely about the whole thing (once he'd finished laughing), but I was racked with guilt for my association with a manic, blanket-murdering feline, and the death of what I assumed was a rather expensive piece of home decor.  It was in this mood that I made the somewhat rash promise to knit him a replacement blanket...

Actually, this project has turned out to be very enjoyable, although absolutely massive!  I'm doing it in afghan squares, which means that each piece is quick enough for me to finish before I get bored.  Each square has a different design - some courtesy of the fine members of Ravelry, some designed by me.  I'm intending on posting each square as I go, complete with the patterns (if it is my own design).

Oh, and the murdered blanket turned out to be from IKEA, and cost about a tenner.  Typical!

Sackcloth and ashes - apologies, apologies!

Disgrace, disgrace, I heap coals upon my head.

I have committed the cardinal sin of blogging - starting and then failing to update.

My summer was eventful in it's own way - an awful lot of moving around, and still not in my own place back in the city again!

I did get some crafty stuff done though, and the cat had a wonderful time.

I've only recently got myself a camera so I didn't get too many photos before I gave the projects away/sold them, but I did get a pic of one of the cards I made:

And one of the cat enjoying his summer break...

Random catness

This is not The Cat.  This is a random cat from teh interwebz.

There is no reason for posting it besides the fact that it makes me giggle whenever I see it...