Pattern: A hat (see notes below)
Yarn: Quince & Co. Osprey in Delft + Garnstudio DROPS Kid-Silk in colour # 06
Size: To fit me (roughly)
Yardage: a bit more than half the skin of Osprey (say about 100 m)
Needles: 3.5 mm and 4.00 mm bamboo

… And …

Pattern: Momentum Cowl by Natalie Selles
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta in Anzules
Size: As written
Yardage: The whole skein
Needles: 9.00 mm bamboo

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The cowl pattern is simple and quick. My skein must have been a bit short (or my gauge a bit loose) because I only got seven repeats in before I ran out of yarn and the pattern calls for almost nine. The cowl turned out a good size anyway so I don't mind. Oh and ….

This yarn is awesome!!!!!!! Knit with it.

The big needles meant I had to take a couple of breaks while I was knitting but I've been seriously considering knitting these cowls for everyone I know just so I can run this yarn through my fingers. It feels that great. The incredible colours don't hurt either.

The hat morphed as it went along. I started out knitting Felicity by Wanett Clyde but changed the rolled brim for ribbing. By the time I'd reached the increases for the pattern I'd realized that the fabric I was getting had too much body for a slouchy hat so I started decreasing instead. The end result is a nice, basic, fuzzy, blue hat that fits me pretty well (it's a teeny bit big).

The yarn feels great but was annoying to work with. It's a little unfair of me to complain though because the problems all came from me not noticing when I was winding the two yarns together that every so often a full loop of the Kid-Silk had pulled out and been wound into the combined ball. As I was knitting along I'd run into these loops and have to push the extra yarn down the strand of Osprey to get it out of the way. Twice I got so frustrated I cut the Kid-Silk and removed the extra. Next time I'll pay more attention when I wind different yarns together.

I got some new yarn in the mail last night. Meet Osprey, in the colour "Delft", from Quince&Co.

I first found out about this company a little while ago and just loved their philosophy and the look of their yarns. If what they say on their website it true it is entirely possibly that the trip from Portland, Maine to my front door was the longest journey this wool has yet made. I haven't taken it out of the skein yet but so far I love it. It is soft and squishy but still feels like it will wear nicely. It has a set of super cute tags and arrived all wrapped up in tissue. It felt like I was getting a special present.

This yarn is destined to be a new winter hat. Something slouchy but still snug around my ears so that it keeps the wind out. It is not alone in this mission though. Giving a helping hand is a skein of Drops Kid-Silk that has been in my stash since my sister gave it to me last Christmas. The Yarn Harlot knit a hat for her daughter a little while back with a strand of soft, mohairy yarn held along side something sturdier and I loved the effect. Ever since I have been dreaming of a soft, slouchy, warm hat with a delicate blue hallow.

I had a bit of difficulty trying to match up colours over the computer so my order from Quince&Co. also included a colour card.

I don't know why but owning a colour card makes me feel kind of important. Like I must really know what I'm doing because I own a colour card or something. It's a bit silly but kind of fun at the same time.

The card is very pretty. I love all those tiny swatches of colour. I can't wait for the next time I want to order one of these yarns and can go to my colour card to decide what would work best for my project.

This is the second time I've made this pattern but I never got around to photographing the first one. It's a chocolate brown bamboo jersey (and doesn't photograph well). I made it just before Christmas and it has been a wardrobe staple all winter. This is Lydia from Burda Style and the pattern cost me all of a dollar. It doesn't come with very good instructions so I followed the ones in Sew U: Home Stretch instead. I also followed Wendy's suggestion for sizing and measured a few of my favourite t-shirts to pick a size that would fit well. The sizing chart that comes with the pattern is for clothes of woven fabrics and I ended up with a much looser shirt than I was expecting the first time around.


My fabric is blue cotton from NearSea Naturals; I think it was called "Castles in the Sky". It's very lightweight and very comfortable. The sewing was pretty quick, especially since I left the edges raw on the hem and cuffs. I trimmed the neckline down a bit and bound it instead of using the facings the pattern calls for. To match the raw cuffs and hem, I left the edges of the binding raw and showing too. It makes for a very casual relaxed shirt. The pattern comes out plenty long (I like my t-shirts to come down to my hips) and has waist shaping which I think makes it very flattering. Putting in the sleeves was a bit fiddly but the usual lots-of-pins-and-go-slowly technique was all that was required to get them in nicely.


I've worn this shirt several times since I finished it and it is already a staple. It goes well with a skirt or jeans and looks nice enough to go out for dinner. Being all cotton and lightweight I don't find it too much on warm days and it is going to be a wonderful base layer under sweaters this winter.