Chevron Cowl

I picked up several skeins of DK yarn in various places, and strangely, they are all blue! Or maybe that's not really so strange...

They range from 140 yards to 230 yards, so I was looking for some one-skein patterns to show off the yarns. After looking at some hat and cowl patterns, and chevron patterns, I found Zig from The Neighborhood Yarn Co. It used almost exactly the same number of yards as 3 skeins I had of DK weight yarn in similar textures. I had two other yarns, but their textures (twist, etc.) were not a good match.

The yarns:

• A = 2 Guys Yarn Company MCN DK (merino, cashmere, nylon) - 230 yards in Across the Bay
• B = Polka Dot Sheep Stumptown DK (100% merino) - 231 yards in Nightfall
• C = Swans Island Organic Washable DK (100% merino) - 140 yards in Verdigris

The pattern calls for 5 colors of Neighborhood Yarn Co. Studio DK (275 yards) which must mean that you could make two cowls with the yarn...

The stitch pattern in the cowl alternates between stockinette stitch and garter stitch, sometimes one of each in the same color...so I came up with this recipe:
A: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
C: 20 rows GC
B: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
A: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
C: 20 rows StC
B: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
A: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
C: 20 rows GC
B: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
A: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
C: 20 rows StC
B: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
:
continued until the cowl is approximately 49" long.

Chevrons

I always seem to have problems with chevrons...First, I made the Lila Cowl with the lovely cashmere collection from Pepperberry Knits. I loved the color selection for this cowl and the pattern - but it was the packaging that sold me.

8 colors on a binder ring with the pattern

I followed the directions, but found I needed to knit 5 stitches between increases and decreases. It all worked out in the end.

Now, I've started the Zig Cowl using a selection of DK yarns from Stitches West 2015 and my trip to Mendocino last year. While I still needed to use a provisional cast on and I'll need to kitchener at the end, this is a flat cowl. I ran into trouble because knitting 12 stitches between the decreases didn't work out...if I stick with the 72 stitches I cast on (and I will because what a pain to change that!), I need to change 12 to 10. Now I'm making some headway.

* I see on the Ravelry page for the Zig pattern that they have corrected it to cast on 82 stitches. But I feel that 72 stitches is wide enough.

Mannequin Head

For some reason, I got the idea that I need a model for my knit hat photos. I took a look on Pinterest, and decided to customize a styrofoam head. I'm sure I could find one locally, perhaps even at Michaels, but I ordered one from Amazon along with some other things. Issue: Although the head was packed with air cushions, the nose got flattened a bit. This is okay because I was going to cover it with paper for a better paint surface so I'll build the nose up again.

Here's the original (scary) head:

Here's the head with it's newspaper coating:

 Here's the head with some features to check for size and positioning:

I plan on putting a coat of gesso over the newspaper, so the features will get covered up again. I think the eyes might need to be a bit smaller. I'll also need to figure out the hairline. Should I add some texture for the hair? Should I add the suggestion of ears?

Bottle Glasses

I've been toying with the idea of making drinking glasses from wine bottles for awhile. I saw a tool at MakerFaire two years ago that would make it easier to make them, and got it as a gift last year. And I've been collecting wine bottles (and friends have, too) so maybe the time has come.

Ephrem's Bottle Cutter

On a trip to Summerwood Winery in Paso Robles, I got to see a few of these tumblers up close. Some had flat bottoms, some had punts. Both were very nice - although I suspect they used some kind of flame to finish the drinking edge.

Refresh Glasses

I'll do some research to determine whether to use Bordeaux or Burgundy bottles and how much of the bottle to use. The Refresh site provides some clues as to the sizes. The Bordeaux is nice and straight up to the shoulders:

But I don't know if the Burgundy really has any less usable height:

I guess I'll just have to measure the height and circumference.