Projects
Pattern Pivot!
Dear Kay,
Sometimes wimping out is the only way to go.
When I headed out to the Shakerag Knitting Getaway last month, I had a fresh pair of Freia ombré yarn babies in my Yarn&Whiskey project bag, and a copy of Field Guide No. 29: Mosaic. My plan was to cook up Amy Christoffers’s Ocean Waves Cowl.
It’s very cool.
The yarn is cool, too.
Of course, when I got to Shakerag, all focus was demolished in an endless set of chats, hangouts, overeating, and doing the Cha Cha Slide in the dark.
The mosaic charts in the Ocean Waves Cowl pattern are not hard. They’re just…charts. Charts to eyeball while in the midst of the most fun I’d had in a long while.
Fortunately, Amy Christoffers apparently knew I was going to be distracted, so she kindly included a Field Guide pattern for a simple bit of mosaic knitting. Bingo! I diverted right after lunch on the first day at Shakerag.
The Windowpane Cowl is a simple slip-stitch pattern, two colors, scrumptious.
(I made one earlier this year, using Jane plus Kidsilk Haze.)
This quickly became a perfect companion for social knitting.
And it has been a good companion for my viewing of The Bear, Season 4, a show that has a Knittability Level of 3/5. It’s not like it has subtitles or Matthew Macfadyen crossing a heath in the early morning haze, but The Bear is one of those hold-on-I’m-semi-crying shows. Sometimes I just have to stop and wish Ayo Edebiri was my friend.
I love the fabric that mosaic knitting creates.
I admire Amy’s confidence in writing a pattern for such a simple idea.
And this pattern makes a heck of a stashbuster. Literally any two yarns in the universe would be interesting to see for this. Laceweight + bulky. All linen. Variegated plus a solid. Speckles plus tonals. WhatEVER.
Curious to hear what combinations you might use for this.
And as always, it is kind of great to watch Tina Whitmore’s Freia yarn shift like magic, from the darkest possible gray to a bright leaf green.
The back side shows the subtle shift.
I do admire the Ocean Waves Cowl design, so I think I’ll go with the pink Freia color for it. I mean, look how much fun happens when you get your cowl done:
Now that I’m home and doing the Cha Cha Slide all by myself.
Love,
Ann
I haven’t knitted either of these projects. I’m just here to say Season 4 of The Bear is THE BEST!!!
Great projects! I love the look of mosaic. And season 4 of the The Bear was amazing.
Thank you for this. I’ve been pondering both the Ocean Waves and the Floating Squares patterns in alternate yarns. Great to see how Ocean Waves turns out.
Lovely!!!
Re Ayo: YES!!! I just listened to her on Conan’s podcast. It’s short bc there’s lots of Conan drivel to skip. I love the bear but I didn’t finish the final epi bc I got bored part-way through. I’ll finish it when season 5 is released.
I am making a little chicken with a mosaic pattern on it, thought it would be perfect for an afternoon hangout with friends. Not so much. I had to sit and talk and not knit….I love your pivot.
The last season of The Bear lost my interest too. What I did get out of it is my 70-something hubby took an interest in more original cooking. Several years ago, after getting tired of planning, provisioning, cooking and preparing meals for many decades, I asked him to take that on just one week a month. He has been doing so, but not well and too often buying prepared or packaged foods (okay once in a while, but not good for health or budget). So, I am pleased with this progress!
I’m just learning to do mosaic knitting, so I’ve started with some small, “easy” patterns. I love this cowl!! Thanks for sharing the beauty of the stitches.
If I were to use a sport weight and a bulky, would I need to use two separate needle sizes—a smaller one for the sport weight & a larger one for the bulky?
Thanks
Thank you for new stash busting information! I love that texture! Add another project to my wish list!