Knitty Cozy is that indeed

Wow, the last two weeks have gone ... somewhere? Anyway, I have been knitting. And thinking about knitting. Just not blogging. Thanks for all your wonderful comments on Charlotte's Web. She's been worn several times and continues to please me.

In addition to knitting, I'm trying to take up cooking (surprise surprise - this is more popular with the rest of the family). Made a lasagna from scratch yesterday. OK, not the pasta, but I made the Bolognese and bechamel sauces. Added sauteed Swiss chard to the ricotta layer and sauteed brown mushrooms to the bechamel layer. Yummy. Very yummy. If you want to understand Italian cooking, get Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cookbook. I'm a new cook but what I've made from this book tastes like I've been doing it all my life - that's a good cookbook!

Finally finished Knitty's Cozy wrap. Pushed on through balls five, six and seven in about four days after getting that bug to JUST FINISH IT. Almost stopped at ball six, but decided that I wanted a little more drape. I've only got about two yards of ball seven left. Final measurements after an hour of wear are 67" x 22", though I blocked it wider/shorter (about 62ish x 25ish) knowing this yarn/pattern had a strong tendency to stretch long. The pattern uses eight balls of a different yarn and measured 67.5 x 19.75, so this was a pretty close substitution.

I've found I can pin it like a poncho or just wrap it. I'm wearing it at the PC right now and it lives up to it's name nicely. The pattern is two simple lace rows shifted over an eight row repeat A-B-A-B, so once you get comfortable it flies along, which is good since it seems to goes on and on at the end!

The yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed. I LOVE this color. You can see from all these photos how it changes in different light. It's my favorite shade of red with the added bonus of orange flecks. But, I'd be hard pressed to recommend this yarn for this pattern - nothing about it is conducive to knitting lace. It's a thick, rough 70% silk/30% cotton worsted weight blend that can be very hard on the hands for lace stitches like K2togtbl. Still, it does create a wonderful texture. Ah, the price of art.

Click this photo on the left to get a good look at the orange flecks.

I've read a lot of opinions about Summer Tweed, so I'll just give you my experience so far. First, it does indeed soften significantly in the wash. It's still got a rustic hand, but softer with a nice drape. After CO, I machine washed it in a front-loading washer on the delicate/cold cycle with Eucalan. I would have used the "handwash" cycle, which has an even gentler agitation and spin, but I was in the middle of kid-management and simply forgot until I heard the spinning. Still, it survived without issue, though this fiber doesn't look like it will tolerate too much agitation.

From there I gently wet-blocked it on the futon - no pins, just repeated tugging to measurements. Someone on the Cozy KAL told me their Summer Tweed bled badly, so I put a color catch sheet in the wash (it was the only thing in the load, I was just curious). The sheet came out red, but there was no bleeding on the cream futon after Cozy laid on it wet over night (yeah, I live on the edge), so I'd call it colorfast, though I'll probably always wash it alone to be careful and reduce agitation. I put in in the dryer on the lowest setting for about three minutes after it was completely dry just to de-fuzz it and soften it a touch more. Finally, this yarn has not broken on me yet, but it can be pulled apart fairly easily, so I'm going to have to be very careful around our door handles (they've torn my shirts and sweaters in the past as I've dashed around our house - maybe I should dash less?).

Caution to other Cozy knitters... I made the same mistake three times over the last four feet:  I dropped the inside K2tog stitch on a [slip, K2tog, psso]. They fell behind the new stitch and were virtually invisible until I examined the knitting from the back. Luckily (in this case) the yarn is so sticky it doesn't run. Caught one while it was still on the needles and just dropped down about three inches to fix it. The other two showed up during blocking, so I fixed them from the back by pulling the yarn up through the back, cutting (yes, cringe), then knotting. Totally hidden by the pattern.

Have a new sweater in process too, but will blog that another day.

Comments

[Adelle]

That looks absolutely gorgeous! Congrats on finishing!

[Sara]

Another fabulous wrap! The color is beautiful on you.

BTW, I was showing my mom photos of the FB shawl, since I want to make one for her. I showed her yours, and she said (after admiring the shawl), "What a pretty woman!"

[Emma.]

Another beautiful piece of knitting.You look stunning in that shade of red.Gorgeous.
Fab !

[Teresa C]

That red looks great on you! I love the lace pattern too, thanks for the close-up pics. Two finished in two weeks. Man, I have to work harder!

[Jackie]

BEAUTIFUL!! You may just have inspired me to pick mine back up again. Great photos, too! :)

[michele]

I LOVE that wrap....I've never done one, but your post has made me really consider looking into it. Again, it's just yummy and bravo!!

[Alexa]

You're just a lace knitting machine. Lovely cozy!

[Abigail]

Your cozy is gorgeous. That yarn is a lovely color. Sorry to hear it wasn't that pleasant to knit. I plan to start a Cozy in white silk, as soon as it gets to me!

[Moni]

Wow! looks lovely! welcome back :)

[Sherrill]

I LOVE your Cozy, the color is beautiful and your blog regarding the whole experience puts much light on the pattern and the fiber you chose. I am about 20" inches into the length and now have been inspired to get it done. Thank you for sharing.

[Betsy]

Your Cozy is beautiful! I just finished one for my mom for Mother's Day, and am getting ready to block it. That red is gorgeous, maybe I'll have to make another for myself...:)

[Shawn]

oohhh this is just smashing! Lovin' that deep red color and it looks beautiful on you as well. Very striking. - S

[Risa]

Cozy is beautiful. What a gorgeous shade of red! It looks great on.

[KarenK]

Your Cozy is just lovely, and what a nice color. I've printed that pattern out too, and it's lying on top of my "Future Projects" pile, along with a few hanks of Elsebeth Lavold's "Silky Tweed" in Rust, which I think is close to the weight of the yarn you used. I really like the look of the lace pattern, and you did a beautiful job on it. Congratulations!

[Billi-Jean]

I made a hat for Jordan out of the summer tweed (he is very sensitive to fabric texture, so I was looking for something that wouldn't scratch), and I agree... some stitches are tough. The finished fabric has a wonderful feel to it though.

[CatBookMom]

Your Cozy looks wonderful, and the color is just terrific with your coloring. Thank you for the detailed review of the pattern and the Rowan yarn. I keep looking at it at the LYS, and just not quite seeing it as any item in my WIMs list.

[Leah]

Nancy, I love your Clapotis too! You commented on our alignment of patterns and yarns on my blog, and after seeing your Cozy and glancing at your stash, I have found it goes even deeper(strange Twilight Zone music playing in the background).

I have Cozy cast on in Summer Tweed in that exact (if it's Smoulder) or at least a very similar shade. I also have Kid Classic in the queue for Fern in the same shade you have picked out.

Great minds.....

[Leah]

Oh, I forgot to mention Charlotte! My colors are not as subtle as yours however! Great work!

[Lissette]

OMG, it looks beautiful! I can't wait to finish mine! I'm at 37", and I need to finish it by at least Saturday. Mine is a Mother's Day for my grandmother, and seeing as how Mother's day is this Sunday, and this still needs to be blocked, I think Saturday is pushing it, but that's my target date.

[Jen M]

Your Cozy came out just beautiful! I know what you mean about how it seems to go on and on near the end, and as a result mine is a bit shorter than yours :) But it is still a great pattern, and the red color was a great choice!

[Vicki]

You look incredible in this shade of red - great choice! Cozy is beautiful and just right for this time of year (at least in Eastern Canada) - I can see me out in the evening with the dog wearing a Cozy instead of a coat. Oh dear...now I want one. Glad to see a new post - I was beginning to worry! ;-)

[tania]

oooohhh....me likey!!

[Anne-Caroline]

Very nice - with this and Charlotte's web, and the 2 claps - you have a lot of nice accessories to wear!

[Sandy J]

That wrap is de-lovely! *whistles* Nice job, and congratulations!

[Deb]

That really is a beautiful color. What a great job you did with that lace! I'm drooling here...