cosmicpluto knits!

Soliton Cowl

I finally have a new pattern for you! This is just the start of my fall pattern blitz – I’m so excited for fall this year.

SOLITON COWL
This cozy oversized cowl is quick to knit up in an unusual, fun stitch pattern that’s reversible, too! Knit seamlessly in the round, this is the perfect project to show off handpainted, handspun and extra-special yarns. I love the sunny yellow colour of this Malabrigo merino, and it’s super soft – perfect for wrapping around your neck on those chilly days.

The Double Garter Stitch pattern will work with any number of stitches, so play around with the size to get exactly what you want.

Technical Editing by Alexandra Virgiel

SIZE
One size; 32” / 80cm in circumference, 11” / 28cm deep

MATERIALS
300 yds / 274m worsted or aran weight yarn. Shown in Malabrigo Twist (100% merino wool; 150 yds / 137m per 3.5 oz / 100g skein), 2 skeins in colour Sunset
US 10 / 6mm circular needles, 32” / 80cm long
stitch marker
tapestry needle

GAUGE
15 sts and 12 rnds = 4″ / 10cm square in Double Garter Stitch

MORE INFO
The Ravelry page is here, and there’s more photos there too!

2-page PDF includes photos and abbreviations. Available through Ravelry, payment through Paypal (no accounts required).

$5.00 CAD

textures, and a recipe

I’m obsessed with making various neck thingies this week – cowls, scarves and shawls.

Mmmmmm.

But, since I don’t really have anything much more to show you, I thought I’d pop by with a recipe I’ve been making a bunch lately! It’s a great breakfast, and I’ve lightened it up considerably from its original recipe, so I thought I’d post it.

(I took this photo ages ago at my old apartment – sniff, there are lots of things I miss about that place.)

Dutch Baby Pancake

Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup milk (I use lactose-free, 1%)
- cinnamon, nutmeg, a few drops of vanilla extract

Directions
Turn oven on to 400F. Put the butter in a cast iron skillet or glass pie pan and place it in the heating oven while you mix the rest of the ingredients.

Mix the eggs, flour, milk and seasonings together – I use a large glass measuring cup, and I find that the immersion blender (stick/hand blender) does a great job of incorporating the flour quickly and adding some air. Otherwise, use a standard blender, or just a bowl and a good whisk.

Once the butter has melted and foamed in the pan, pull the pan out of the oven, pour the batter in, then stick it back in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until it has puffed up around the edges and is nice and brown.
Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with whatever you want – I use maple syrup and homemade strawberry jam!

A few notes: I think the batter puffs up the best with room temperature batter, but the reality is that sometimes I just don’t have time for that! Instead, I measure out out the eggs and milk the night before and put them in the fridge, and measure the flour and seasonings out into a bowl. That way in the morning I just have to turn on the oven, mix it all up and dump it in the pan.

And don’t worry if you get to about the 15 minute mark and it looks like it’s not puffed – it comes up really quickly at the end!

Nom. Perfect with a big cup of tea.

hey! it’s an FO!

I haven’t done much this weekend, though I did book a few hotels for Leeds, Cardiff, and Swansea. Still need to do trains, and Ireland! Only 7 sleeps left…yikes.

This weekend I made scallion pancakes, and had them in a Chinese feast along with egg drop soup and some broccoli. Nom. It’s a good thing I only made half a batch, because I would’ve just eaten them all.

I worked on a shawl in Spud & Chloe Fine. I love it, and I think I’ll be making another version on my trip as one of my take-along projects. I need to block this one so I can see what the finished dimensions are – this is the larger version, and I’ll be doing a smaller scarfy one next.

And for the first time in what feels like forever, I finished something! This is the simple lacy cowl that I started on my trip to NYC. It was great carry around knitting, just one ball of yarn and working in the round.

I used one skein of Socks that Rock Silkie in “Walking on the Wild Tide” (rockin’ sock club colourway). The lace pattern is just one round knit, one round yo, ssk, with the beginning of the round shifting one st to the left every lace round.

I have some more FOs to show you this week too – I’ve been pretty bad at taking photos of my finished sweaters, so I finally just up and did them all in one fell swoop!

snowy spring sunday

It’s not like it stuck around or anything, but yes, snow was seen falling from the sky today! Hopefully that’ll be the last of it for this winter, but we’ll see – there’s always a few surprises in spring weather.

The other day I was looking through one of my “assorted projects and yarns” bins and came across a long, long neglected sweater – I think I started this several years ago and for some reason, I just didn’t finish knitting it! It only had one sleeve left to go! Since it’s been so long, it’s almost like I got to knit a new sweater and finish it up in 2 days. The yarn is Handmaiden Casbah – it needs a good bath before its debut. Might be a good one to take with me to the UK too.

More brown – I started this shawl a few weeks ago, and although I don’t get to work on it much, I do think it’s fun! It’s a triangle, worked from the bottom up. So the cast on is very long (over 300 sts) but you start decreasing right away. I’m using Spud & Chloe Fine, and there will be more colours than just these two. I love this yarn, and especially in this stitch pattern it’s really springy and squishy!

I still have so much to do before my trip – thanks to everyone for their suggestions of things to do! There will be a couple of yarn store appearances along the way I think, and I’ll let you know more about those soon! I’m getting really excited. I have most of my packing list sorted, except for the hardest items -

What knitting do I bring?!

happenings

I’ve been knitting, reading Jane Eyre for the first time, watching more Friday Night Lights (starting season 4) and more knitting.

I also hung out with some knitters from afar!

Jess of Fig and Plum came to knit night a couple weeks ago and it was a great time. (Excuse the weird lighting.)

And Jodi Green came by to visit while I was working – it was the first time we’d ever met, despite longtime internet acquaintance.

I did, in fact, finish those colourwork thumbs and managed to knit linings too!

It’s a good thing all the knitting for my soon-to-be-born pattern collection is done (these mittens will be in it), because the photoshoot is on Saturday!

In the meanwhile I got to start a new sweater for myself out of delicious Malabrigo Rios.

Goes great with a cuppa coffee in one of my Jennie the Potter mugs!

a confession

I hate knitting colourwork mitten thumbs. They’re just so fiddly and little. Bleh.

One down, one to go.