Stash Busting Cowl

 I got this idea to make a cowl out of scrap yarns. Someone that I work with made a cowl with a K4P4 rib pattern and hers turned out pretty good, so I used that idea for the pattern. I took some white alpaca, peach mohair, and three hand spun wool yarns and held them together while I knitted with the biggest needles that I own--size 10.5.  Although I liked the colors, the knit was too dense and there was no drape to the garment.  I just tossed it out and started a new one...

For my second attempt I used the white alpaca, with a hand spun wool/silk hand dyed single, and some gray baby alpaca, and some white/gray sea silk.

 These colors blended nicely and with only four thin strands used, this cowl had the right amount of drape.

Here's the quickly pattern: Holding all the strands together, cast on 88 stitches. Join in the round and then
K4 P4 until the desired length. Cast off in the K4 P4 pattern. Weave in ends. Voila!

Happiness

 Do you know what makes me happy?                                                 Clean, white, fluffy locks of Romney...

 my favorite Fricke flick carder...

...and a basket of locks ready to spin.    This is what makes me happy.

Arctic Diamond Stole

One of my friends went to Peru a few years back and brought me back two large balls of Alpaca yarn. One  ball is white and the other is a dusty cream color. I packed them around through several moves and then finally decided to knit something with them.  I chose the dusty cream color and a pattern from my stash. I have a Winter 2006 Interweave Knits magazine in which there's a pattern called Arctic Diamond Stole that fit the bill.  I've been working on it for a few months now.  I'm down to my last repeat of the pattern---I had to add an extra repeat because it didn't seem big enough for a shall.  Soon I'll be blocking it and hopefully wearing it this winter.