Tag Archives: zigzag cowl KAL

Show and tell.

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It’s time again for show-and-tell! We’re fortunate to see many knit and crochet projects come through the shop, and when I’m able, I like to photograph them and share them here on the blog.

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René brought in her “Celeste,” a beautiful beaded lace shawl knit in Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering.

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René designed, named, and knit this shawl for her sister, and the pattern can be found in Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders. 

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Jane fell in love with Grace Anna Farrow’s “Twinleaf” shawl at last year’s Fibre Company Trunk Show and recently completed one of her own.

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Knit in Fibre Company Meadow, this two-color garter stitch shawl is elegant in its simplicity, decorated with thin stripes and shaped with short-rows. I love Jane’s color-combination: ”Fennel” and “Cornflower.”

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Rosi finished her “One-Skein Zigzag Cowl” in Mirasol Nuna, as part of our informal “Zigzag Cowl” Knit-Along. Look for it at the shop in the sport-weight section, alongside my cowl in Ewe So Sporty.

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I have a little show and tell, too. A few months ago, I designed and knit this little sweater for my niece, using three shades of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport.

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I gathered some of my favorite books to guide me, using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s updated Knitting Workshop for seamless sweater construction, Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters for sizing, and Mary Jane Mucklestone’s 200 Fair Isle Motifs for some of the patterning. I had so much fun making this thing that it almost didn’t matter if it fit her or not–but I am so delighted that it does, and that she likes wearing it!

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Thanks to everyone who starts and completes their projects at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We feel so lucky to be part of your creative process.

Zigzag Cowl Knit-Along.

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Last Spring, we had two Knit-Alongs at the shop: first we knit up the summery “Gemini” tee, and then we made “Hexagonal Market Bags.” Halfway through March, sick of freezing rain and snow, we’ve decided we’re ready for another warm-weather Knit-Along. Inspired by the latest new yarn at the shop, Anne, Rosi and I have both cast on for the “1-Skein Zigzag Cowl,” a pattern by Heather Walpole for Ewe Ewe.

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I’m knitting one in Ewe So Sporty, the sport weight superwash merino for which the pattern was written. The yarn is tightly-plied and full of elasticity, well-behaved on my Addi Turbo needles and resulting in a pleasing stretchy fabric.

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Thinking Spring, Anne chose Tahki Cotton Classic for her Zigzag Cowl, a dk weight mercerized cotton. Like Ewe So Sporty, Cotton Classic has sharp stitch definition, but like all plant fibers, it lacks elasticity, which will make a lightweight, gently draping fabric. Just the thing for decorating and warming your neck on a moderately chilly day.

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Rosi’s cowl is made in Mirasol Nuna, a sport weight blend of merino wool, silk, and bamboo. These fibers combine to be quite soft, a little fuzzy, and a little shiny, and make a relaxed, luxurious fabric.

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I’m excited to see how these three different yarns behave in the same pattern. Want to make a “1-Skein Zigzag Cowl” of your own? Join us in this informal Knit-Along. The pattern is available at the shop in print or as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale, where we’ll print a copy for you and save a digital copy to your email or Ravelry pattern library. Any sport or dk weight yarn should do; we have a nice selection of colors in Ewe So Sporty, Tahki Cotton Classic, and Mirasol Nuna, along with all manner of other yarns in those gauges. I’d love to see Zigzag Cowls in Malabrigo Arroyo, Fibre Company Savannah, Mountain Meadow Wool Cody, or String Theory Selku, to name a few. Come by the shop to see all the choices, and to see how Anne, Rosi, and I are progressing on our cowls. We’ll also be posting on the Ravelry HYS group with any lessons learned along the way, just as we did while we were making our Gemini sweaters and market bags. See you at the shop!