The cowl is part knitted on size 13s and part crocheted with an N hook. This yarn is a bit difficult to work with because the coils don't want to pull through the loops. I cast on seven stitches and knit garter stitch for four rows. On the fifth row, I knit one, yo twice, knit 2 together until the end, then knit straight across the next two rows. It took every inch of the yarn to make this. It's super warm and cozy. The buttons are just plastic ones I got in a grab bag over the weekend.
The other yarn I tried out was a boucle with little nubby twists and sparkle. The roving I used was merino. I think it's too busy and the mohair takes away from the nubs and sparkle. I think I'll use this for the ends of a scarf and just spin the sparkle and nubs with the rest of the roving for the main body of the scarf.
The other yarn I worked on was some beautiful hand-dyed alpaca I got from Janelle. The colors are subtle and beautiful and I mixed a bit of sparkle in with it to give it a little extra pizazz. The result is a soft luminous yarn that will make a great... something... LOL! I have no plans for this other than to drool over it! I only have about 5 ounces of it, so my idea of a cuddly bed jacket won't work until I knit it with something else.
I've also been out thrift shopping and so I'll leave you with some of my favorite most recent finds, a wire basket with long evening gloves, a pincushion tea cup, an architectural drawing, a pretty tea cup, Laura Ashley curtain, a set of antique plates, a pretty white and blue mini tea pot, and some pretty fabric to recover my cushions for my couch:
