ZigZag Cowl

This is a cowl-in-process. I loved this simple but lacey pattern of zig-zags and open-work and I chose it to make for my aunt for her 70th birthday which is coming up. The pattern is  the ZigZag Cowl by Mandy Powers (and it’s a free Ravelry download).

The yarn used is Good Karma Farm’s 60/40 wool/alpaca blend which is a worsted weight and has the softest hand! I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn. It didn’t split too much and felt so good while knitting. The pattern wasn’t difficult, although in my case there is room for operator error – I get chatting and can’t seem to count!

Today, I’ve charged myself with blocking the finished cowl and will be using the most wonderful gentle hand-wash soap in the whole wide world – Eucalan. The reason that I love it so much is that you don’t have to rinse it out of your hand washables! Even if you’re not washing knitted items, you have to get a bottle of this stuff. I use the unscented (because of my allergies) but there is a lavender and a eucalyptus scent as well.

And since I had no pins to block with, you see them as well. I’m using a folded up beach towel as my base and it’s working really well.

Why block, you ask? It makes the stitches become more defined. Particularly when you’re knitting lace, and I’ll show you what I mean when the blocking is done and dry.