Lesson in 10 pictures

I will just start by saying, I am a monogamous knitter, I just am, just as I am a slow poke English knitter. I’ve tried to be the opposite of these two things and it just takes away the joy of making for me.  I have tried to start multiple projects but the guilt, stress and loss of interest in juggling wips is enough to have me sit and do nothing.

I have tried to “speed” myself up continentally and have come to understand, I don’t want to speed up the process, I like the slow build, I like the mediative movements, the even stitches and few hiccups I encounter because I am focused and paying attention. For these same reasons I am also not a public/social knitter, and that is OK, we are all OK, no matter what your preferences (in tools, habits, yarn choices or projects) as long as you are making what makes you feel good, you are perfect, don’t let anyone tell you different.

The yarn was 2 years in stash holding, a souvenir from Boston, and a little more rustic (aka scratchy) than I usually like, but I fell hard for the color and the idea that this wool would at some point become something wonderful.

The Furrow Cowl lured me in at first sight, but for some reason I just couldn’t get my head around this pattern and found the way it was written so confusing. I’ve bought way too many patterns in the past that once I get a peek at the instructions I’m like screw this, I’m not looking for THAT much of a challenge ..but I’m 100% committed to making this, 100%!

This is the first time in my knitting life that I’ve felt like I needed to write out the complete rnd/repeat sequence and tic each row as I finish.

This next bit is gonna seem really f-ing confusing to anyone not working on this pattern, but I need to plop in in here for future reference!

I wrote out 12 repeats which equals 2 furrow and 4 moss sections, and it’s 95 rnds after the garter/setup rnds before the upper edging.

The moss pattern is a 4 rnd repeat, while the furrow cable is a 6 rnd repeat. So the moss begins again 2 full rnds before the furrow starts over. (Update: once you’re in the thick of it, its pretty easy to tell which rnd of moss st you’re on ..not really an issue.)

The furrow begins and ends with a purl, but it’s not written in the furrow stitch pattern section, but is established in the set up round.

Decreases every 28th rnd (after the garter and set up it works out to be rnds 6, 34, 62, 90).

Decreases occur in the moss section, but they fall on different pattern repeats each time (furrow rep rnds 1, 5, 3, 1) and it messes with the moss stitch sequence. Using phrases like “p2tog or k2tog to keep in pattern” & “work in established stitch patterns” when it’s sometimes changing up …got me like 

Ok, knitting is infinitely easier to keep track of having it written out, I can “walk away” at any point and start right back up no problem ..but I still hated writing it out!

Realizing I need to figure a way to get rid of the little begining of round transition seam you get when working garter in the round, it’s always bothered me on garter hat brims and now on this ..is it a matter of slipping a stitch/moving the beginning of the round, like jogless stripes? …which isn’t perfect but better than a faux seam .. I need to remember to try this next time. (Brooklyn Tweed usually has fresh ways of working simple ideas with modern techniques or incorporates twists on classic methods, so I’m a little surprised this wasn’t addressed?)

Hum.. thinking the last round of moss stitch before the garter top should be the opposite stitches of what is written, it looks oddly tall/ elongated with 2 knits stacked at the transition without the top purls to settle it into “moss”, maybe seed stitch that last round?

Yes, it’s a little weird shaped, sure, I’ve never made, let alone worn an A-line cowl, but like I said, I was 100% committed to trying.

While I’m still not sure I love this or hate this or if I can even comfortably wear it without being smothered (I might be a legit itchy hot mess), it felt good to try something new, push my boundaries, refine my opinions, expand my cold weather wearables and inch just a little closer to knowing and understanding what makes me happy.

Oh yeah, this makes me happy too. 💕