I do mention my various projects on my main blog, but not any details about what goes into making them. I've tried just keeping regular journals, but I don't keep them up. Somehow, putting it on some sort of public record (even though in these days of Twitter and Instagram I admit that my blogs rarely get read) makes me more likely to keep it up. Maybe. I hope.
Anyway--Demon Thread. A homage to a late and much-missed friend who always described my obsession of all things fiber as "Demon Thread."
And so, without further ado, my first (and finished! project of 2019: a silk/camel cowl.
This was actually a remake of a silk/cashmere cowl (the "Graveyards and Ghostlights" pattern on Ravelry :https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/graveyards-and-ghostlights) that was my travelling knit in 2015. Just to brag, here's in "in progress" shot in the Paris airport.
And the finished cowl:
Which is luscious and soft and beautiful and I loved it even though I admit that it really didn't look like this when I wore it. I had made it too big around so it sort of hung in a big loop unless I kept pulling it up and messing with it. (I also made it longer than the pattern but I liked that) Loved it anyway. Love my niece more, so after the hurricane when she lost about everything I gave it to her.
But in my stash I had a couple of ounces of a silk/camel hair blend left over from another project, and though I would replace the cowl. But I spun this a little heavier than I usually spin for lace. The yarn for the original cowl had been one ply of cashmere (very fine, because I'm a cheapskate and cashmere is expensive) and one of silk. This blend was a streaky blend--you could clearly see both the silk and the camel down. And if I spun it too finely the silk would spin out and leave me with a handful of down. So I spun from the fold, and a bit heavier. The final yarn was about 20 wraps per inch (my default yarn is 24 wraps per inch, and my lace 30+).
I wanted the cowl to fit around my neck and then flare out, so I started with size 3 needles, and then moved up every few inches until I finished with size 6. I used pool noodles to block the shape.
And the finished cowl:
And I will admit I'm not that happy with it. Again--even though I *swear* I sampled for gauge and reduced the number of repeats, it's still too big around. I think I'd be happier with a finer yarn (but see above--this fiber didn't want to go any finer). I don't particularly like the look of it being knitted with the larger needles--it lacks pattern definition. But the main problem is that there is a fine line between "drape" and "droop" and this cowl crosses it. When worn, it just sort of collapses.
I'll wear it (and I might even do a bit of smocking around the top to make it smaller and hopefully help the shaping) but it won't be a favorite.
So there may be a third iteration of this, because I really love the pattern and want to make it work. Eventually I'll get my hands on some more cashmere or something equally luscious and do it again!
