FO: Black Cherry Tart

When I bound off this cowl, I was certain that there was enough cold weather still ahead to ensure that it would be worn a few times before being retired for the season. But then it took a few days for me to block it, weave in the ends, photograph it, box it up with a few other goodies, and get it in the mail, and by the time it landed in my sister’s hands I’m afraid the weather had already taken a decidedly spring-like turn. Luckily for me, this is one of those very rare occasions when it really was the thought that counted more than the gift itself: my sister was having a miserable week at work, and an unexpected package on her doorstep was just the pick-me-up she needed.

2015-03-07_1_Black-Cherry-Tart

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Berroco® Vintage® Chunky, 6181 Black Cherry

It probably won’t surprise you that there is no pattern for this cowl, since it’s just 1×1 ribbing and seed stitch. I didn’t even note how many stitches I cast on. I know that it was more than the Bandanna Cowl, because I felt that design was a little snug and the women in my family don’t like things too close around their necks.

From there, I knit a sufficiently deep ribbing (sufficiency being purely subjective in this instance), weighed it, then knit merrily around until I had about that weight of yarn remaining, knit another band of ribbing, and bound off. Completed, it’s tall enough to pull up over the nose but short enough scrunch down under the chin.

I was concerned that the bind off would be inflexible, but after trying several I discovered that it was possible for even a tight knitter like me to bind off too loosely. Even after settling on a slightly firmer bind off method—the Lace Bind Off from Leslie Ann Bestor’s Cast On, Bind Off—you can tell that that edge is stretchier than the cast on, which is at the top of the piece in the photos.

Although the photo above shows the stitches much more clearly, the photo below is a more accurate representation of the color. At least, the bottom center is. I’ve heard reds are devilishly tricky to photograph, but I feel like the sunlight and my camera were being especially uncooperative. (I’d like to think my camera’s days are numbered, but that might be overly optimistic right now. I’ll just be glad when I can start taking all of my photos outside again.)

2015-03-07_2_Black-Cherry-TartYou may recall that my goal with this knit was to use up the last of this yarn, and I’m happy to report that I succeeded on that front, with a scant 5 ounces remaining:

2015-03-07_3_Black-Cherry-TartI’m saving this little ball in case either the cowl or the hat needs mending down the road.

With those two projects out of the way, I’m now free to focus on my favorite knitting recipient: ME. I very much need to finish my Courant sweater before I have no hope at all of wearing it this season. (Surely everyone has one such project, be it knitting or sewing). Of course, now that I can dedicate myself to it I’ve realized that what I really need are a few cardigans or other layering items to manage the wild 30° temperature swings that are coyly referred to as transitional weather. I continue to remind myself that I work best when I work on one thing at a time, and Courant won’t get knitted if I’m not knitting it. We’ll how long it takes before I cave and cast on for some other kind of accessory.

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