I very rarely knit from kits anymore because I enjoy the pleasure of finding just the perfect pattern for a special skein of yarn, or vice versa. This kit, however, delighted me from start to finish.
The start was when Lily and I popped into Beautiful Knitters in London, England last year at this time. It’s a welcoming shop, crammed with gorgeous yarns, many of which are sourced right in the UK. I had already picked out the yarns for this shawl, when a charming display of mini balls from Wee County Yarns caught my eye. Holy smokes, are they cute! Turns out, it was the last Pic N Mix kit available, but the accompanying pattern pages were nowhere to be found. This was not a problem since A/ the pattern was available free (at the link) and B/ I was already enchanted. Nevertheless, the shop owner insisted on printing the pattern out on her colour printer while I wanted and offered me a 10% discount for the inconvenience. Twist my arm! So, a great experience turned into an even better one.
I started knitting the cowl last fall while at my mom’s place deep in the Ottawa Valley woods and jumped in and out of it over the next several months between other projects. I preferred to work on it by daylight as I was choosing colours as I went. I couldn’t give myself up to an entirely random colour selection, but I did make sure that every pattern repeat was a distinctive combo. Some of the match-ups are more successful than others, but this was very much part of the fun. I also enjoyed the construction: knit in the round like a long tube and then the two open ends joined.
One learning I want to remember for the next time I do a provisional cast on would be to use a very thick wool or leave the loops on a circular needle. I think I used a fingering weight yarn, and while it held well and did the job, it was a giant PITA getting the loops back on to a needle for finishing. So, live and learn!
See how skinny that red yarn is? Thicker would have been better. But LOOK at those two cute cute cute lil fox stitch markers. Also purchased from Beautiful Knitters because how could I not.
Anyway, I finished just as it’s too warm for a pure wool, double weight cowl. So now it awaits the turning of the season. Maybe it will be a nice bright spot for me as the days get shorter and darker. Yikes. Chill, Frances. It’s way too early Spring to be dreading next winter already… But hey, at least I’ve got the perfect accessory.
