New Year Gift!

Had a lovely evening in the country yesterday.  Our friends Kate and Ron live in a Georgian farmhouse on the Castle Howard estate and arriving there was magical. The castle really goes to town at Christmas and their drive is flanked with trees festooned with lights as far as the eye could see - complete non sequiteur I know, but if you'd like to see for yourself, come and join us in May on the Lakes & York tour.  The farmhouse track is about half a mile long and as you go along it the rest of the castle light show is twinkling amongst the dark fields - certainly more than made up for having to open a couple of farm gates in the mud and drizzle!

There was a warm welcome at the end of the track with their new beast of a wood stove at full throttle, making the house toasty warm. Kate's wholefood veggie cooking is renowned throughout Yorkshire (if not even further afield!) and the food was as fabulous as ever.  Made a note to myself to have her do a guest visit to my blog with a couple of recipes - she does the best cheese and leek pie I've ever tasted and deep fried tofu to die for.  Had a wonderful time catching up with old friends we don't see nearly enough of, life just seems to accelerate into the future far too quickly.

Tonight we're having a quiet New Year at home.  Turn up the music, cook some food, light the candles, stoke up the fire, then whilst the food is cooking, a few lines of backgammon will keep me happy. Later we'll be ringing in the New Year to Jools Holland's 19th annual hootenanny, with Cyndi Lauper and the legendary US electric blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite.  Also joining Jools, amongst many others this year is blast from the past Sandie Shaw. I've never been a fan of her music but remember thinking how cool she looked with her gorgeous silky curtain of hair and barefeet.

But I digress, what I really wanted to do today is to thank all my family, friends, and fans for their support and friendship over the the past year.  I wish you all peace, joy and good health in the coming year and hope the knitters amongst you will enjoy this pattern.  Cruz is from Wandering Spirits and was one of the book's most popular designs. The question has often come up of whether or not it's a hat, so I have to tell you now that it's a very versatile and easy mobius design in three sizes which can be interpreted as a shawlette, a cowl or a head wrap.  The head wrap version is the smallest size and does look like a hat if wrapped twice around the head.

SIZES                                

S         32” wide x 7.5” high/81.25 cm x 19 cm

M         35” wide x 11” high/91.5 cm x  28 cm

L          40” wide x 14” high/102 cm  x 35.5 cm

YARN     

Araucania POMAIRE:

(183yds/168m per 100g hank):

L makes shawl – 2 skeins PT699

M makes scarf – 2 skeins

S  makes head wrap – 1 skein PT696

NEEDLES                  

24” long 5 mm (US 8) circular needle

or size to obtain tension, marker

TENSION                   

16 sts and 10 rows =  4”/10 cms over Ripple Stitch pattern when blocked.

Please work swatch and check carefully.

If wrong alter size of needles until correct tension is achieved.

STITCHES      

Ripple Stitch – multiple of 10sts

TO MAKE SHAWLETTE

Cast on 130(140, 160) stitches, loosely.

Round 1          Ensuring stitches are not twisted (very important), pick up and knit a stitch below the first cast on stitch, along the lower edge of the cast on row (ie knit in the thread below the first cast on stitch while leaving the first cast on stitch on the needle). This closes the circle. Continue around similarly, picking up one stitch below each of the original cast on stitches, while leaving the cast on stitches on their needle – 260(280, 320) sts.                             

NB The circular needle will begin to coil up within itself during this round, but as the knitting progresses it will get easier.

Round 2          Place a marker on the right needle. Make sure the work is not twisted. Knit the first stitch in the normal way. Continue to knit around until you've reached the marker.

Round 3          Slip marker, purl around

Round 4          Slip marker, knit around

Round 5          Slip marker, purl around

Round 6          Slip marker, *k1, (yo) twice, k1, (yo) 3 times, k1, (yo) 4 times, k1, (yo) 3 times, k1, (yo) twice, k5; rep from * around

Round 7          Slip marker, purl around, dropping all yo’s off needle

Round 8          Slip marker, knit around

Round 9          Slip marker, purl around

Round 10        Slip marker, *k6, , (yo) twice, k1, (yo) 3 times, k1, (yo) 4 times, k1, (yo) 3 times, k1, (yo) twice,  rep from * around                 

Round 11        Slip marker, purl around, dropping all yo’s off needle

S         work rounds 4 – 7,  then rounds 2 – 5, then cast off knitwise – 19 rows in all

M         work rounds 4 – 11, then rounds 4 – 7, then rounds 2 - 5, then cast off knitwise - 27 rows in all

L          work rounds 4 – 11 twice more, then work rounds 4 – 7, then work rounds 2 – 5 once, then cast off knitwise  - 35 rows in all.

FINISHING

Weave in ends along side edges.  Press to size.

This design must not be knitted for resale.  Reproduction in whole or part is strictly forbidden unless prior consent has been given in writing.

 © 2008 Jean Moss