If you haven't visited our shop in Georgia, or just don't live in the south, this may not make sense to you. Here in the South, Summer is the coldest season ... indoors. And because we're in Georgia, summer starts early. It's only March, and there have been several days where the air conditioning has been turned on, or it's just been cold enough that I have to run a heater under my desk. Granted, I always tend to be cold, but it's becoming that time of year when other people around me are also feeling cold indoors. This usually means that I wear my winter sweaters and cardigans to work and take them off in the car before I head home. But sometimes, it's only a little cold inside. Then taking a sweater on and off gets annoying. A shawl then becomes perfect, because it's easier to take on and off, but I currently do production for my day job, and having a shawl dangling off my shoulders would just get in the way. It would also be really unsafe. That's when I decided I needed a lightweight cowl that goes over my shoulders.
Before I talk more about the cowl, let's talk about the yarn, and this month's Royal Recommendation. I picked the DK Superwash Merino/Nylon blend from Bad Sheep Yarns. The range of color choices Bad Sheep Yarns offers are amazing, but I specifically fell in love with Elizabeth. I love all the colors that work together in this yarn to create a complex and pretty color way, and I knew I wanted to find a pattern that would highlight all this gorgeousness. Also, Bad might be in their name, but their yarns are oh so good and feel delicious to work with and wear.
I used two skeins of Elizabeth to make an OctoCowl designed by Silje Camelie. This was a fun and fast knit and I am really pleased with the fit. It keeps me warm, while still allowing my hands to work unobstructed. There are a couple of things about the pattern that you should know if you intend to try make your own OctoCowl. It is free, but it is only available in Norwegian. I was able to translate it using Google Translate, and there were only a couple of terms that didn't translate into knitting, but I got it figured out. So if you'd like help with this, please let me know and I will help. I also started out with more stitches than the pattern originally called for, because I wanted it to be a little loose around my neck. Overall, I am really pleased with this fun cowl/half sweater.
As always, the Royal Recommendation for this month (Jane Austen colors in DK from Bad Sheep Yarns) will be 10% off starting today until I make my next Royal Recommendation. So, now is a great time to stock up on any of the colors from this fun collection. And if you use any of the colors from the Jane Austen collection from Bad Sheep Yarns to make an OctoCowl, or anything else, I'd love to see what you come up with.
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