Witch's Brew Cowl by Tellybean Knits
It’s been ages since I’ve updated but with more people blogging again and using other platforms like Substack, I thought I’d dip my toes back in with a lil finished project post. I have stacks of sewing and knitting projects I can share, most will be new to you since I’m no longer on social media. I’ve been thinking for a while that it would be fun to review patterns I’ve worked on, share any modifications, etc. I do feel like I owe everyone a bit of an explanation about the past few years health wise but I’m not sure how to begin that right now so we will talk crafting first! ☺️
This month I worked on Tellybean Knit’s Witch’s Brew Cowl. I haven’t done a Fair Isle project since 2012 and this was my first big project since July’s hand surgery so there was definitely a bit of a learning curve and remembering how on earth to do it. By the time I finished the cat row, I figured out that what was the most comfortable for me, which was knitting one strand Continental with my left hand and one strand English with my right. I typically knit English, it’s how I learned in my early 20s and I taught myself Continental in my early 30s as I’d read it was more ergonomic. Each are fine with me but I find English more familiar.
In 2018-2019 I did what I refer to as “the big destash”, I gave away or donated 95% of my yarn stash thinking that I’d be unable to knit again. I kept very few things, mostly gifts from friends and my husband. I did keep two mini yarn sets from Sunshine Yarns, purchased in 2012. They just looked so cute and shiny in their little package, all lined up nicely. I’m glad I hung onto them because they came in handy for this project.
I really loved how this MKAL was formatted. The clue layout and overall PDF design was really nicely laid out, you can tell that so much thought was put into this MKAL. Once a day you’d receive a clue and Stephanie broke down each motif by the yardage you needed which made picking colors much easier for me since I didn’t have a kit and have very few skeins in my stash. I printed my clues and found they printed beautifully, nice size and super easy to read.
I ended up using all sorts of odds and ends of yarn, borrowing a skein from Ashleigh, dipping into a skein I got on clearance at my LYS earlier this summer and then using some that I’d earmarked as a hat. I still have enough leftover for the hat but now I think I’d like to knit Gathering Flowers with it instead. I spent so many afternoons weighing yarn and keeping a sheet of paper with the weights and notes, I really wanted to not buy anything for this project and while my cowl isn’t quite as cohesive as others, I’m glad I stuck with it.
I worked on mine with Ashleigh and checking in with our friend Margo on Instagram along with sending Emily what felt like 90 messages per day asking her opinions. I really miss social media sometimes and the actual SOCIAL aspect of it, like sharing projects and enjoying seeing others projects progress. I had six people on Ravelry who’s projects I’d check in on regularly because I liked the colors they were working with, I looked forward to their updates.
One part of the MKAL that I appreciated was the video tutorials, I am typically a written word learner but watched all her tutorials, usually while I was weighing yarn.
What I learned:
An i-cord edging that was different than what I’d previously done.
Eye of newt stitch - so much fun! This is the green stitch in the cowl.
I used this video for adding a new color in, I wish I’d learned this sooner!
Stephanie’s way of weaving in the ends.
I wove in my ends and then blocked it, I was worried that this would cause puckers but it ended up being totally fine!
What I’d like to do differently next time:
For sure a different way to trap the floats. I struggled mentally with how to wrap the yarn around the needle and towards the end I ended up just juggling the skeins over and under each other. While it worked, it wasn’t the most efficient.
More breaks. I found myself getting so into this project that I’d sit far too long. In the future when working on a “potato chip” project, setting a timer for every 25 minutes would be great.
An alternative to yarn needles. The plastic ones I have are too fine, I couldn’t grasp them and while the metal ones are thicker, the metal was cold, I couldn’t feel it in my fingertips. I might try the methods of weaving the ends in as you go by knitting into them.
I like to think of this cowl as giving “cranberry bog witch” vibes and I listened to many spooky and dark books while working on it, my favorites being The Tainted Cup, The Dead Take the A Train and Exposure.
