Pine Tree Cowl from Flying Fingers - Done!

A fluffy finish...

It’s lovely.  Light and lacy, soft and fluffy—just the way I hoped it would turn out.  

A nice large size that lends a bit of drama, or doubled up cozy around my neck.  And the edges are perfect.  

This, a red sweater, and a sparkly brooch are my choice for Christmas Eve services this year.

Next, I cast on the bright and adorable Tofu Baby Sweater to take me into the New Year.

Pine Tree Cowl from Flying Fingers - Day 5

A cloudy pine tree...

I was nervous binding this off.  My usual go-to bind-off for this sort of thing, Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, didn’t have the right look.  Another standard bind off (2tog, return stitch to left needle, 2tog, etc) had the right look, but isn’t especially stretchy.  Every time I do that one, it’s either too loose and gets ruffly and sloppy, or too tight and doesn’t match the cast-on edge.  I really like this piece and didn’t want to mess it up.  

I’m delighted to report that I didn’t botch it—by going slowly, carefully, and loosely, I managed to give the edge just the right amount of tension.  Or so I hope.  You never really know with something like this until you block it.

I’m rather fond of the ripply, puffy nature of this cowl right now.  Half of me wants to forgo blocking so that it keeps the current look that reminds me of clouds. Altocumulus, clouds to be exact (I looked it up for you).  Only we don’t truly see the lovely stitch pattern in its current state.  And I don’t like the way the edges look at the moment.  So into the blocking bath it goes.

How does it emerge?  You’ll have to wait and see.

Pine Tree Cowl from Flying Fingers - Day 4

Once more around the needles?

As a matter of fact, I did have enough yarn to go for an 11th cycle of the 5-row repeat.  Rereading the directions, I’m not entirely sure that isn’t what the designer had in mind all along.  After all, the direction read “Repeat rounds 1-5 a total of 10 times.” Does that mean 10 repeats of rows 1-5 (i.e. one and then ten repeats), or 10 repeats total.  Does it really matter?  Why waste splendid yarn as a tiny ball of leftovers when it can make my fluffy cowl just a bit more fluffy?

I’ve decided to pair this cowl with a red sweater for my Christmas Eve outfit—we do church on Christmas Eve.  Now, I’m on the hunt for the perfect sparkly pin to give it that festive holiday dash.  I’m envisioning a silver snowflake.  

I love the delicate-yet-dramatic texture this cowl manages to achieve.  Even though I’m not a small woman, all the bold big and chunky cowls never seem to suit me.  I need drape, not heft.  And yet truly delicate or small-scale accessories don’t fit my style either.  I’m always happy when I find something that has the statement I need without the volume I don’t.  

I’m looking forward to binding this off and seeing if it looks as lovely around my neck as it does on the needles!

Pine Tree Cowl from Flying Fingers - Day 3

Certifiable...

The more I knit, the more I like.  This cowl is easy, filled with texture, and…yes…very fluffy.  I love the ripply texture even though I know much of that will flatten out once it’s blocked.  I could almost see expanding this out in a flat project to make the most delicate baby blanket in a pastel pink or blue.

I’ve done 7 cycles of the five-row repeat, so I’m roughly two-thirds of the way through the 10 cycles called for in Fanelli’s pattern.  Honestly, if I’ve got yarn left over when I get to ten, I may be hard-pressed not to continue (but I need to remember that I’ll need to have five rows of yarn left wherever I decide to stop).  How could more fluffy be a bad thing, right?  Then again, I don’t need to be walking around looking like a cloud formation just settled around my neck.

Moderation…it nearly always eludes me in knitting and life.  When I like a pattern, I want to make ten of them.  When I like a desert, I want to eat three of them.  When I like an author, I buy everything he or she has written.  Obsessive?  That’s one way to put it.  I prefer the term “enthusiastic.”

Allie Pleiter, certified yarn enthusiast.  I like the sound of that.

Pine Tree Cowl from Flying Fingers - Day 2

First off--It's the Pine TREE Cowl, not the Pine Cone Cowl.  You'd think I'd get the name right the first time, but nope.  My apologies for the error.

Ahem, now to knitting.

Having cast on this fluffy wonderfulness—more whip cream than marshmallow, I decided—I began working the very easy repeat with a smile on my face.  I love repeats so easy and clearly stacked on each other that I don't need to fill my needles with stitch markers.  Place each yarn-over to the left of the one below it for five rows (essentially—it is a bit more complicated than that but not much) then start over.  Totally doable!

I’ll admit that after three sets of five-row repeats, I haven’t quite memorized it—but I’m close.  This is the perfect skill level for the holiday season—amusing but not frustrating, with a nice fast speed of accomplishment thanks to those big 10.5 needles.  If you’ve got about a week to whip up a gift for someone, this would be an excellent choice.  I don’t think a silky yarn would do it justice—you need a bit of loft for this—but any wool blend could serve nicely.

Those are fiber options, but what about color?  I find myself wondering what it would look like in a non-solid yarn.  Would you lose the lovely diagonal lines with a heathered fiber?  Would the long color variations in hand-painted yarn muddle things up?  It’s enough to get a knitter’s eye wandering to her stash upstairs to experiment….