Cabernet Infinity Scarf | Knitigating Circumstances

I can’t stop knitting things for Leah in the rich golden colour called Candlewick from Madelinetosh.

In the summer of 2014 I knit Leah a cardigan (Peloponnese by Sandi Rosner for Twist Collective) that used Candlewick as an accent colour against Composition Book Grey. I blogged about it here, where you will find all of the details and many great photos. The cardigan was a huge hit and I am told that Leah practically lives in it:

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She was very enamoured of the lovely rich tones of the Candlewick, so I ordered more yarn and made the cowl as a surprise last Christmas, using the Cabernet Infinity Scarf – DK pattern by Monika Sirna.

I had a skein of the yarn leftover, so this Christmas I whipped out a pair of fingerless mitts to match.

Monika Sirna recently released a mitt pattern to match the cowl, but I decided not to use it. First, it was designed for worsted weight while my yarn was DK, but I also found the pattern to be a bit busy. I decided that I wanted a pair of simple stockinette mitts with a single pattern of the cable running up the back ; I think they turned out elegant. I didn’t take any notes – I used double pointed needles in a US size 5, put in a single pattern repeat with one purl stitch on either side, and added a thumb gusset. The only slightly tricky part was incorporating the pattern repeat into the ribbing on the bottom and top of the mitts (which involved decreasing one stitch as the count was off by one, if I recall).

Leah loves them and I think they will get a lot of wear. This colour really suits her.

We are having an astonishlingly warm Christmas here in southern England. The photo above of Leah in her Peloponesse cardigan was taken in August year before last, the other photos are taken today in late December. I think the temperatures are probably the same today as they were on that summer day. Everything is green, and you can see the rosehips on the rose bush and the flowers blooming behind Leah. I have no doubt that the cold will arrive eventually and then hopefully the Candlewick mitts and cowl will be both cheerful and warm.

I knit cowls for both girls this Christmas.

Leah’s is knit from the pattern Cabernet Infinity Scarf by Monika Sirna, in the DK weight cowl version. I had a skein of the gorgeous Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK in Candlewick left over from Leah’s Peloponnese sweater. I ordered an extra two skeins to make this cowl, as per the yardage instructions, but only used two skeins in all (thus leaving me with one skein for…moi!).

I knit this with a US size 5, which gave it a pretty tight knit. I imagine that most people would knit it to a bigger gauge, but I liked this look better. I then blocked it heavily. It was 7″x36″ pre-block, and I blocked it out to 8″x46″. Once blocked, the cowl is light and airy, and very soft. The cables and lace are crisp and clear in this yarn.

I have wanted to make this cowl for a long time. It is really a striking pattern, particularly in this rich golden hue. It is a bit of a fiddly knit, but is worth the extra effort. It was clearly a big hit with Leah. It goes beautifully with her Peloponnese sweater, but also looks good with many other colours. Leah wears a lot of reds, burgundys, and purples and the gold really shines.

Emma’s cowl uses the Lowbrow Cowl pattern by Thao Nguyen. I had two skeins of the lovely Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK in Venetian left over from Emma’s gorgeous sweater, Venetian Audrey. I knit this one with a US size 6 needle, and also knit an extra pattern repeat to give the cowl more width; blocked, it measures 8.5″x48″. I had almost half a skein left over.

Unfortunately, Emma’s Audrey is across the ocean and couldn’t get in on this photo shoot, but I think they will work well together. On my Ravelry page, I have named these two the Golden Cowl and the Ruby Cowl, because of the beautiful jewel tones.

The weather here has been lovely this Christmas; cold but very sunny. We have gone for many long walks through the countryside. The winter sun gives beautiful light. This, of course, gives many opportunities for photo shoots.

My family are surprisingly good at indulging me and this blog. Yesterday, Doug and the girls went into London for the day. They dutifully took many cowl photos in the British Museum. Here they are standing in front of the Bronze Gates of Balawat (fragments and replicas of the huge bronze gates of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC) from Balawat).

Incidentally, Doug was also wearing a hand-knit cowl. I knit this one a few years ago for myself but it looks better on Doug so its his now. (Its just Malabrigo Worsted held double knit in seed stitch).

Happy New Year to all of you from all of us. I am heading off now to drink home-made eggnog and watch Dinner for One (if you don’t know, ask a German!).

Edited to correct yarn used for Lowbrow cowl.