I’m not a super fan of cowls but I have to admit they are growing on me. They are certainly a fun and fast knit and there are most definitely tons of cowl patterns out there to choose from . . . but still . . . a cowl isn’t something I would normally knit.
Unless, of course, my dear friend sends me a link to one that she says she loves. And unless, of course, said dear friend happens to have a milestone of a birthday in the coming year. When that happens, well, I’m all over the cowl knitting experience.
Let me cut to the chase: last December my friend Anne linked to this Cowboy Cowl pattern on my Facebook page. She said something about how pretty it would be in hot pink. Well, I promptly forgot the hot pink part but I did remember that she liked it and I tucked it away to knit for her as a 50th birthday present.
I ordered my yarn (Madeline Tosh Vintage in the color Iris because purple is Anne’s favorite color [and I totally forgot about the hot pink part]) in mid September and I cast on October 19th. Anne’s birthday party was planned for November 9th. Plenty of time.
So I knit and I knit and I knit. And I thought, gosh, this thing is huge. Really really big for a cowl. At some point I thought, gee, I hope I don’t run out of yarn.
You see where this is going, right?
A week before Anne’s birthday, as I feverishly knit in the hopes that I could somehow beat the yarn to the finish line . . . I ran out of yarn. It was too late to send for more, even if I thought I could find it in the right dye lot. And the thing really was awfully big. So I checked my gauge.
You see where this is going, right?
My gauge was way way off which totally explains why I ran out of yarn.
And so, with one week to knit, I started over. Two needle sizes smaller this time.
I finished the knitting on Friday, blocked it over night, and did the rest of the finish work on Saturday morning – right before the big birthday bash.
What can I say? I like to live dangerously.
As for the rest of the story, the birthday girl was very pleased and didn’t even mention that it was supposed to be pink.
Such a lovely gift — and such a funny story! (And since you’ve already knit it twice, maybe you should go for a third time . . . in hot pink???)
Lucky Anne to have a friend like you! And it’s a beautiful knit!
Anne is one lucky grrl to have a friend like you AND a new purple cowl!
That really is gorgeous … makes me wish I’d looked at it more closely when Anne wore it last week! The buttons go perfectly with the yarn … and I think she’s probably happier with it in her favorite color than hot pink 😉
Gorgeous! And you reknit it in a week? Wow.
Knitting on the edge–can’t believe you reknit this in one week! Sorry to say this, but now you have to do one for Hannah because she totally rocks it!
Cowls are really nice for cool-weather biking. No fear of pulling an Isadora Duncan with your scarf!
OMG I never heard THIS part of the story!! I knew you were working feverishly on something prior to the party, but had no idea what. I can’t believe you had to start all over with so little time! I do love it – even in purple – and had actually forgotten all about sending you the link until you told me at the party. Hot pink hot schmink, I love it in purple, and love that you put your heart and soul and weary fingers into it, as that makes it all the more special. It looks great with my plaid coat and the purple offsets it perfectly. It’s one of my favorite gifts and is also keeping me nice and warm now that the weather has turned. Thank you! <3
I LOVE it, Carole! It looks incredibly cozy. 🙂
Lovely- really truly, it is awesome. I sometimes want to knit that one, and every time I see it as a big arrow pointing down to the crotch, and I think, “No, that’s just night right” but then the stitch design and the pattern start to appeal to me again. I’m still not sure, but I adore cowls and yours turned out great. And it looks so good on Hannah- she should have something in Iris because it’s really nice on her.
It came out beautiful and you got it done with time to spare! Such a knitting pro you are 🙂 That Mad Tosh is such awesome yarn.