Stellar Mohair

In my woolly experience you either love or hate mohair. There is no in between or compromise. I happen to love mohair, and have fallen head over heels for Marta's Mohair Mist. This luxurious and fluffy stuff is spun in France and dyed an array of beautiful shades in Australia. My Fair Isle obsessed pal Sylvie was so inspired by this 4ply fluff, that she designed a piece for the shop. The results of her labours are a whimsical and starry cowl called Stellar, and will keep you warm in approaching season. 

S T E L L A R

Yes, I know it is summer, but as a knitter I am always thinking ahead to the cooler times!

Mohair Tip #1: Keeping Mohair in the fridge makes it easier to knit with (particularly in this heat). When mohair is warm, it is more challenging to work with. So keep your mohair chilled like a nice bottle of champers. Believe it or not, it's a scientifically proven fact. Hence, the mohair in the fridge pic.

 

Stellar kits are available at Ginger Twist Studio (kid mohair and patter)for £24, so come pick out your colours today!

Scrappy Man Cowl

What to do with all those wooly scraps?? I don't like leftover bits of wool sitting in my stash for too long. They become uninspiring and downright annoying. But Mother taught this lady not to waste. For this reason, I appreciate projects that use up every last bit of my purchased materials. For some time I had a solution, and was using any and all scraps for my Beekeeper Quilt. But let's face it, I'm hexapuffed out and hunting for a new solution.


Being particularly inspired by Eribe's line of scarves, I find the patterning of blocks of colour with randomly interspersed stripes fun and attractive. Translation: this project uses up small bits of many colours. Scraps be gone! Hurrah! Coincidentally, there were two men in my life needing a wee something knit up for them. Gentlemen, meet the Scrappy Man Cowl. 

First, I picked out approximately 125 grams of wool from my stash, all in the same weight, in a palette I deemed attractive. For Scrappy Man #1, I focused on reds, blues and browns; all in aran weight. Using a provisional cast on, I cast on 30 stitches. Sticking with plain old garter stitch, I created the colour combinations as I went along. Then used a 3 needle bind of to connect and finish the cowl.

 


















Presenting Scappy Man #2 in a dk weight, featuring blues, greens, and browns.  




















I'm pleased to report that both gents were delighted with their Scrappy Man Cowl. On another very predictable note... 

I'm knitting another dress. I heard this stunning shade calling out "Dress Jess!!" I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted when I started knitting, but just sort of went for it. It's designed itself as I've went along. Next week should see this completed. Later kittens!

Oh, Oh, Oh, It's Mohair, You Know.

Do you recall that hit tune by Pilot? I so cleverly replaced the word "magic" with "mohair." 

Random fact: Pilot formed in 1973 in Edinburgh, Scotland. What does this have to do with mohair? Very little to nothing.

A couple weeks ago I posted a pic of what appeared to be a mountain of purple fluff. This turned into a dress of course. Honestly, what else would I make?


Designed to be knit from the neck down,this Ginger Twist original features a cowl neck, cap sleeves, pockets and an interesting hemline. 




On to the next item of business. In the past couple weeks, this luxury ball of kid mohair has become...

             ....

                 ....

                      ....

THIS!

I appreciate the process of studying a ball of wool, and seeing what it can become. My vision was something simple, airy and interesting; creating my go-to summer cowl. This colour is an outstandingly bold choice, and I didn't want the pattern to detract from its beauty. Using a couple of different textured stitches, I feel that I have accomplished my mission. Now this busy bee is on to her next project.