Monday 19 January 2015

Cappuccino Cowl



Inspiration strikes in the oddest places.
On Saturday we went out for lunch at our local cafe. It's an independent business, and we like it as we can walk or cycle there, and go to the park on the way home. Plus, the food is great and not too pricey. As we left the house I grabbed some notebooks and pens to amuse the Little People during our meal.


Lunch was lovely - veggie brekkie for hubby, sausage and chips for the Little Peeps, and a goats' cheese salad for me. For afters the Little People had ice-cream (with squirty cream and sprinkles, obviously) and coffees for us. Well, mine was a tea (but we'll come back to that) which I asked for in a to-go cup. The cup had one of those cardboard sleeves on it, with wiggly vertical grooves. Well, they were begging to be coloured in, so I made the Little Peeps share the pens, and while they slurped their ice-cream, I pimped up my cup. Although the selection of pens I'd brought was rubbish (there wasn't even a red for goodness' sake) I do enjoy a bit of doodling and colouring.


On the way home we swung by the park for a bit (spot the grubby plaster-cast coloured mitt anyone ?) and as I sipped my cuppa to warm myself up, the old creative cogs began to whirr. Hmmm. Doesn't that cup actually look quite good ? Aren't those colours together quite pleasing ? Wouldn't they make a jolly nice colourway for a new scarf or scarf-like thing ? 


As soon as we got home I headed for the yarn cupboard and looked for just the right colours. My Stylecraft stash yielded four of the five that I wanted, and for the fifth - the pink - I had a Paton's yarn, the Stylecraft pinks that I had weren't quite right.


I made a really simple granny-stripe cowl, it's quite straightforward but I'll add the pattern at the end of this post, there's nothing worse than thinking "I'd like to make that" and then being uncertain about where to begin (totally flattering myself that anyone might like to make something similar). 


A pattern of two rows of each colour, and then the whole thing repeated.


Working in a granny pattern of groups of three trebles is so relaxing, I find I don't really have to think much about it, so it's a good background activity to do whilst chatting or watching telly.


The colours are really unusual for me, not a red nor a purple  in sight. I used Stylecraft Special DK in (from the bottom of above photo) Mocha, Meadow, Spice, and Camel. The pink is Patons Fab DK in Candy. 


I'm calling it the Cappucino Cowl. The Tea Cowl doesn't sound as good. Actually it sounds a lot like tea-towel. Cappucino Cowl it is then.


There are no decent photos of me wearing it, or of its full length, as the light is so dodgy at the time of year. But it looks quite delicious rolled up, I think. And I wore it today - it's very cosy :)


Isn't it great how you can draw inspiration even from a pack of random and mostly-dried-up pens :)


Cappucino or a cuppa anyone ?



Cappucino Cowl Pattern

5 colours of DK yarn
5mm hook
Note: pattern is in UK terminology

Abbreviations:
sl-st slip-stitch
ch chain
ch-space chain-space
dc double-crochet
tr treble-crochet

Chain 257. (Counts as 256 ch plus 1 dc)
Row 1 : dc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in every st to end.
              sl-st to top of first dc of previous round, to form a loop (ensure work is not twisted)
Row 2: ch 3, 2tr in st at base of ch3, (skip 3, ch 1, 3tr in next st) to end. ch 1, sl-st to top of ch3.
Row 3: ch 3, 2tr in ch-space at base of ch3, (ch 1, 3tr in next ch-space) to end. ch 1, sl-st to top of ch3. Fasten off.
Row 4: with new colour , join in any ch-space. ch 3, 2tr in ch-space at base of ch3, (ch 1, 3tr in next st) to end. ch 1, sl-st to top of ch3.
Row 5: ch 3, 2tr in ch-space at base of ch3, (ch 1, 3tr in next st) to end. ch 1, sl-st to top of ch3. Fasten off.
Row 6-22: repeat rows 4-5, changing colour every 2 rows. **
Row 23: ch1, dc in every st to end

To finish:
Use the loose end of yarn at the very start to slipstitch or sew onto the end of the foundation row of chains, this closes the little gap that was left.
Sew in all ends.
Block or press lightly with a medium iron, depending on care instructions for your yarn


** I changed yarn after every two rows of granny trebles, so my pattern was 
- dc row in Mocha
- 10 granny rows in (mocha, mocha, meadow, meadow, spice, spice, camel, camel, pink, pink) twice
- 2 more rows of granny trebles in mocha
- finished with a dc row in mocha

29 comments:

  1. That is really pretty.. bravo! I'd love to see it modeled so we could see how it works and drapes. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  2. Lovely colours and what a stroke of inspiration! X

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  3. That is very pretty and how quick of you to notice those colors right off.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  4. I love your creative process! Isn't it great how everyday objects can be such a wonderful source of inspiration to creative people? So many people walk around blind to their surroundings. Lovely cowl, thanks for sharing the pattern.

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  5. Beautiful cowl, wonderful that you were inspired by such an ordinary event. The colours are stunning, a real delight.

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  6. Such a great idea and way to get inspiration! Wherever it takes you is the right way to go hey! xx

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  7. gorgeous! the colours really are great together, thanks for sharing the pattern I'd like to make one like this :) xx

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  8. What a great way for a yarny idea to come about. Your cowl looks great x

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  9. Those colours work beautifully. I am so going to make one, I have some spare odds and ends of wool to use up I reckon this will do nicely x

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  10. What a great cowl, and nice to wear something that has a happy simple memory attached to it. :) x

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  11. This is gorgeous - I love it! I have several of those colours left over from other projects and I'm making them (with others) into a Granny stripe blanket. Very similar process to making the Granny stripe cowl but longer!

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  12. Brilliant cowl, I do love the colour combo.....I agree how relaxing granny stripes are xx

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  13. This is really good - I'm going to have to make one some time :) I know what you mean about randomly spotting interesting colour combos - it can happen at any time, can't it? Love how you named it too :)
    Cathy x

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  14. Can't believe I am the only one who is astonished at how quickly you hooked that up!
    I know you are fast.... but even so. Amazing. Your cowl is lovely and what a great story behind the inspiration. Started knitting a cowl yesterday after finding a mahoosive ball of Aran yarn in Aldi for £3.69. I'm a novice so it'll probably be finished by this time next year.

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  15. Amazing...you grabbed some pens, rushed out the door, colored on cardboard and ended up with a scarf all in the same day! Hey, I saw your comment on knitbakecultivates blog about being cccold...and it's cold where I'm at too. Just thought I'd pop over and say Hi! And continue to swoon over her new home with a beach!

    Cindy Bee

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  16. You are brilliant! I love the inspiration and the way it came to be. A great story and a really great cowl
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  17. Thank you for the pattern, and the reminder that inspiration comes from everywhere! I have been looking for a pattern for a scarf to make with just a few skeins of yarn I have, and this is just it, so I'm really glad you had those markers with you!
    Jenn

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    1. You're welcome Jenn, and thanks for stopping by :)
      Jillxo

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  18. Love the cowl....and the cafe doodling! See what happens when we mix caffeine and creativity .... Magic! :-) xx

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  19. Jill those coloucolours look so pretty together & such a quick project (total fan of that right now)
    Sx

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  20. Kim, your creativity never ceases to amaze me. Only you could get inspiration from a take out coffee cup! And your cowl turned out great - love the colors.

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  21. Love the colors! Aren't we all so lucky to have access to the yarns and colors that are available today?! I bet our grandmother's would be tickled pink to have this variety!
    Hugs and stay warm my sweet blogging sister,
    Beth P

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  22. Love it! Got to be open to inspiration whenever it strikes, and you did a great job! I love those colors together and I sure am impressed with your quick skills!!

    I found the comments about your "cast" hand warmers hilarious!! I think they look adorable and if they're cozy that's all that matters. xo Happy Weekend!!

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  23. Wonderful, you are so clever. I think the colour combination is great. I really really wish I could crochet. x

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  24. I love the colours of your pretty cowl and the story of your inspiration! They work so well!
    Helen xox

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  25. I love how inspiration comes knocking in the most unusual ways. Great story behind this fabulous cowl! The colors do work well together and you are the sweetest for writing down and sharing the pattern. I always plan on doing the same but for one reason or another I am afraid I am no good at pattern writing. Maybe I just haven´t given it a real go ahead. Either way I loved this post.

    Happy Sunday Jill,
    Birgitta xx

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  26. What a cool place for an inspiration to strike! The cowl looks great - thanks for the pattern. I love it when there is a story behind a pattern: It makes it more special :)

    Take care
    Anne (Crochet Between Worlds)

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  27. Hi just found you via Helen Philipps.Love your cowl,I have all this style craft yarn so think I just have to make this cowl.Wll give you a shout when I get around to it.Great blog.Happy hooking.

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Thankyou so much for visiting, and for taking the time to leave me a comment :) I really really love getting little messages, I read and value every single one, so thankyou again, and have a great day :)
Jillxxxxx