Time meltdown ... and cowls

Don't let that calm face above fool ya ... things have been crazy around here.

Yesterday I saw a great photo on a blog of a clock spinning out of control. That's how my life has felt for the past two weeks. Time must be running faster than normal because I just can't keep up!

Work, the major culprit in my time management problems, has been insane. This weekend I spend all day Saturday and Sunday in the office trying to catch up (literally ... 9 hours saturday, 8 hours sunday). I'm pleased to report that some of the largest projects were completed. Oh yeah... did I mention that I worked until midnight last night as well? [sigh]

Nevertheless, all this productivity makes me believe that I've earned the right to take a short work break now to blog. After all ... it has been weeks!


So what knitting have I been doing since last we spoke? Well amazingly enough, despite all that work, I did finish two cowls.

Now I must confess that when cowl-wildfire was spreading throughout the blogosphere, I just didn't get it. They didn't look very warm -- not big enough to really cover up enough skin to be very helpful I thought.

Then I stumbled across this free pattern. Humm... a giant, squishy, warm looking cowl. Now that got me excited. Even more exciting... I had left over yarn from Fantine that I could use. Bonus! So I sat down one evening and ... unbelievably... a few hours later I had a cowl!

Well now that was easy wasn't it. Maybe I should try it again?


Version number 2 was finished later that weekend.


I cast on slightly fewer stitches for the second cowl so it wouldn't be quite as large and think it's a nice alternative to the really big and squishy cowl.

Both have kept me company this past weekend when I was trapped in the cold office, by myself, typing at the keyboard to earn a few cents [cackle ... cackle.. cackle .... do I seem insane yet?]

So looking for a quick project... want a big, squishy cowl ... this might be the project for you too!

I have been slowly making progress on the cabled luxe tunic ... maybe I'll show you my short stubby sleeves next time!

Hope time's treating all of you well.

Chunky Knit Cowl by Erica-Knits
2 skeins Lion Brand Jiffy Solid for each cowl
Heather (for the first cowl) & Black (for the second cowl)
US 17 circulars
Grey cowl Cast on September 24, 2008
Grey cowl Finished September 24, 2008
Black cowl Cast on September 25, 2008
Black cowl Finished September 26, 2008

Modifications:

For the grey, slighly larger cowl, I knitted 31 rows for my cowl resulting in a FO that’s 16” long (11” wide at top and 16” wide at bottom). It’s not long enough to be used as a hood, as the pattern calls for, but makes for a very warm, snuggly cowl.

I knit with the Jiffy held double to be comprable to the called for yarn (thick n quick).

For the black cowl, I cast on 10 fewer stitches than recommended by the pattern so it would be a bit smaller. I still knit 30 rows and the final cowl ended up 12” long, 10” wide at the top, and 12” wide at the bottom. Maybe I knit at a somewhat tighter gauge this time? It still a good size, just not quite as voluminous. The black cowl is also Jiffy, held double.

Ravelry details here.