My life would be a lot easier if I were a mature person who was able to put something like 'winning a blue ribbon at a farm show' in its proper place. You know, given that it's an election year, our economy is in the toilet, and I have things like my shrinking 401k, paying off student loans and worrying about aging parents to think of. But apparently I'm not, because when I walked in to that Quonset hut to enter my precious Malabrigo Beauty in the 'Garments, knitted hat, adult' category I had one thing on my mind: total annihilation of everyone else in my category.
What's not helping so much right now is that every other garment on the 'needlecraft' table was either a. a crocheted kleenex box cover made to look like a princess doll, b. had a beige pom pom on it in a totally non ironic 'air quotes' way or c. prominently featured 'fun fur' as a primary component. Again, I'm not trying to go negative à la recent despicable political ads, I am merely setting the scene for you and hopefully giving you some context for my anxiety. Yes, I go through life thinking I'm better than everyone as defense mechanism. It's a problem.
Luckily all my eggs aren't in one basket at the moment as I have a fun pattern that is controlling my mind and making me make it in multiples. I am speaking of Nova's Birthday Cowl, a little gem of a hand knit whose delightful qualities is almost making me forget about the farm show mishegos.
Pattern: Birthday Cowl by Nova
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa
Needles size 8
Mods: None!
Vaa has to be one of the more enigmatic of the Malabrigo colors. Not only is the name a conundrum, but the color changes colors, kind of like a mood ring. At times it is full on pine-y teal with hints of blue and deep green, and then the next instant it goes all turgid and murky. So inscrutable!
I made this pattern for a friend and was so pleased to give it to her this weekend. She was pleased to become an initiate into the cowl fold, and I was happy to find a cowl pattern that is easy yet interesting. A win-win situation--could this been a sign that things might be going my way at a certain ag-fest?
26 comments:
I think I'm going to be needing a whole sweater in that color. "Inscrutable" is totally my middle name.
Oh man that color is absolutely the BEST ever. Its the color I dream of! Really beautiful.
Good luck on the hat prize.
It is BEAUTIFUL! I love the VAA too - it doesn't compete with the pattern, but enhances it nicely.
(That and I must make it a point to use "inscrutable" while I go about my day tomorrow)
oh, that is one nice cowl! lucky friend.
fun fir? is that really a knitting fiber? :)
If Malabrigo loses to fun fur, I will boycott farm shows forever. Which will come in handy if I ever go to one...
Mmmmalabrigolicious! Gosh, I love Vaa. I used it for a warm, cozy baby jacket once, and I regret not keeping it for something snuggly for myself! Oh well, the babies have to get something.
Your hat gets a blue ribbon from me, and I love the squishy cowl, too.
I love Vaa. I did my CPH in it. I always get compliments on that one.
And although I must admit to a few fun fur accents (or is it accidents?) in my closet, I don't think I am constitutionally sound enough to handle a Malabrigo loss to it.
You have to win if that is your competition. Good luck
I think I might be sick if the judges pick fun fur or pom poms over Malabrigo. Seriously.
Love that cowl. The colors are so beautiful. I'd pick your hat to win, good thought your way.
I think your mission is clear. You will have to infiltrate the judges and educate them. Perhaps even become one.
Did you read the rules first? Perhaps you were supposed to use fun fur? How funny would it have been (just for kicks) to make a Habitat in fun fur? No, sorry, that is blasphemy. Sorry, Jared.
That cowl! I LURVE it!
If you don't win a blue ribbon, send the hat my way next summer and I'll enter it in the Yarmouth County Exhibition for you, where it is guaranteed first place.
I think, if the fun fur or pom pom clad knits win, you can chock it up to the knitter knowing someone on the judging committee. And now, I really want to knit something in Malabrigo, but it has to be in the Vaa colorway.
Fun fur?! Beige pom poms?! Oh, you get me vote!
Love the swirly cowl :)
Your cabled malabrigo hat shits on all the toilet paper cozies, beige pompoms and fun fur. I'm knitting the Birthday cowl right now (almost done) and it's charmer. YOurs is gorgeous. Vaa is an elusive color. I thought I had seen all malabrigo colors. Guess not.
You crack me up. I hear you on the "annihilation of others" thing, though. It's totally what fueled me through college and grad school. Now I've had to transfer that need for total domination of the competition to things like Scrabble and Yahtzee with the family. Not quite as good, but damn if it isn't satisfying to put dh in his place with a bingo on a triple triple. Sigh. Maybe I should look into the State Fair?
Love your cowl. I just wore mine at last night's ridiculously late Little League game. It's such a great pattern.
Thinking you are better than others is a waaaay more awesome defense mechanism than hugging the wall - I say go for it! I love the hat, it's a winner! And that cowl, mmm, I can just see how cozy that baby is!
That Vaa really is an extraordinary color, lovely, just lovely.
Going up against so much fun fur, pom poms, and crocheted kleenex boxes, well, um, if that hat doesn't win, then, well, my theory that the human race is going downhill fast (in just about any way you can think of, but especially in any form of intelligence) will be that much closer to fact...
K, off to distract myself while waiting to have a baby one of these days.
Good luck at the 'certain ag-fest', and happy knitting-
ali
Good luck with the hat, that's a gorgeous color. Love the cowl too, I want some Malbrigo and my LYS doesn't even sell it! I've never knit with it before and I am having a craving for it!!!
If your hat doesn't win, I think I might lose all faith in humanity.
The cowl is gorgeous- I have never seen the pattern or the colorway. Now I feel as though I must buy that colorway and I must also knit that pattern. Your blog is dangerous.
How could that hat NOT win? All would not be right with the world (and we don't need another instance), it's Malabrigo FPS!
The cowl is gorgeous, and now, another amazing colorway to add to my future purchases.
Best of luck! But seriously? If you don't get blue? Someone should be *shot*!
I have fallen prey to the cowl craze. Save me.
I am this <> close to trying some of that Malabrigo yarn:) Everything looks so beautiful!
Those projects are beautiful! That cowl is a gorgeous color!
I *need* to cast on for something, anything in malabrigo right now.
Lovely hat, and great cowl! Fantastic job annihilating everyone else! They didn't even see it coming, your that good
Post a Comment