Throwing in the Cowl

Christmas is always such a busy time of year for me! I like to hand-make gifts, of course, and that means a lot of projects with the same deadline. Sadly, this year I was so pressed for time that I didn't manage to photograph a few of the projects. However, I did get one set of photos, of the present I made for my mom.

She likes lightweight scarves and cowls, to ward off the chill indoors, so I set out looking for a good pattern. I came across the Mira River Wrap by Tammy Canavan-Soldaat. It's a beautiful beaded scarf, knit in lace-weight yarn. The squishy stretchiness of the finished product is a result of a technique called "smocking," in which stitches are wrapped and gathered in particular patterns. 

Originally, I set out to make a scarf exactly like the one pictured in the pattern, albeit with a different color scheme. Then came the issue: time. Like I said, Christmas is a busy time of year, and no matter how early I start I always wind up with fast-approaching deadlines to meet. And leave it to me to pick a lace-weight yarn: the most time-consuming of the yarns! In order to make sure this Christmas present arrived on Christmas, I made some alterations. Instead of making a long straight scarf, I would join the ends and turn in into a cowl! The seam ended up somewhat visible, just because I hadn't planned for it, but ultimately it still looked intentional. And I can say with confidence that this pattern works just as well as a tube! 

Now that the holiday season is firmly in the rearview mirror, I'm excited to get back to some of my personal projects. I have a sweater in the works, and I'm looking to make some things for home decorating as well! Stick around for 2020 and maybe you'll see some of that for yourself!

Speaking of future projects and posting, I think I'm going to continue on with the sporadic schedule for the foreseeable future. Making something interesting and writing about it every single week is difficult when you have a full life's worth of other commitments. I do crafts for the joy of making, and so I'd rather not force myself to produce content that isn't there. I'd rather take my time with it, both in crafting items and writing posts, so that they're enjoyable to read as well. I hope you all agree, and will look forward to new posts, whether they come once a week or once a month. Until next time, stay crafty!