Another Lozenge Cowl

In an attempt to use up the rest of the yarn from the Wabash Woollen Works natural dye workshop, I knit another Lozenge Cowl. Mission almost accomplished. All that remains is some madder.

Pattern: Lozenge Cowl (free Ravelry download), by Raging Wool
Yarn: merino sport weight (about 100g), MC = hollyhock, walnut, eucalyptus, marigold, onion skin, madder, CC = sumac, Queen Anne's lace, madder (acid modifier)
Needle: US5
Modifications: Used Old Norwegian cast on and suspended bind off

A black and white version of the above photo reveals that the contrast in values between the onion skin dyed yarn and the acid modified madder is not as deep as I would have liked, but not too bad.

The main color is knit in garter stitch. If I had paid attention, I would have avoided this bit where the change in colors is not very smooth. (Is there a name for this knitting result?)

The back is not as tidy as the previous Lozenge Cowl. I have a tendency to knit stranded colorwork too tightly, but I overcompensated too much in this version. I would not enter this project in the county fair.

I showed this to my spinning peeps, and they declared it good. Their opinion is all that matters, right?

Inspiration from guild meetings and books

The past two weaving guild meetings have been about new-to-me methods of weaving: twining and circular weaving. Sometimes when I am thinking I am not much of a weaver, I see a new technique and think, Maybe this is my path forward. I haven't tried twining yet, but at the circular weaving meeting we each received a cardboard loom (already warped) that we could practice on.


At an informal spin/knit-in/gab-fest, someone mentioned a book called The Joy of Yarn: Your Stash Solution for Curating, Organizing, and Using Your Yarn, by Marie Greene. One of her organizing methods is to group yarns by color. I once visited a yarn shop that did just that, and I found it to be a rather ridiculous but beautiful way to organize yarn. The author's other method is my method - by yarn weight. After all, how often does one mix yarn weights in a project?

I found the following charts from the book to be very useful, though.

I am really disliking the Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock yarn - it is very soft and feels like it won't hold up well for socks. However, if I double it, I think it would make a nice next-to-the-skin garment like a hat, scarf, or cowl.

Knitting: I have turned the heels on the non-matching socks. One of the basketweave socks is ready for a heel turn, the other close.
Spinning: I finished spinning the Tasman comeback singles. I also plied the latest merino/silk blend that I spun at spin-ins; I'm not very happy with it, would not enter it in the county fair, but I'm sure it will knit up into something nice.

Speaking of spin-ins, yesterday I planned to attend one. I packed up the wheel and some fiber, then decided maybe I would just knit. But after backing the car out of the garage, I realized just how tired I was. So back into the house I went, where I spent most of the day on the couch, reading (and crying through) The Women, by Kristin Hannah. If you lived through the Vietnam era, this is a must read.