Another finished object.

It may not look like much, just sitting on its own:



But you put it on, and it kind of comes to life:



(And hey! It's a picture of my face that I actually feel looks "like me," even with the slightly disheveled hair).

This is the Crofter's Cowl (Note: you need to scroll down to where you see the pattern for the cowl - it's on the righthand side - and it's a .pdf file). It's a fairly straightforward pattern (but again, one where you read it at first and go, "wait, that's weird," but if you trust the pattern and follow it, it works).

The yarn is Araucania Aysen, I forget the color number. It came from Stitches N Stuff a couple years ago, so it's high time for me to get it out of my stash and into something wearable.

This knit took me only a day or so to complete (granted, a vacation day where I had nothing else to do but sit and knit). I had brought the yarn with me but felt a particularly strong motive to make it, as it was about the time that it turned horribly cold. I had a scarf with me but I thought the cowl might be warmer.

It is a very satisfactory object: it is pretty, it is warm (but not so warm it becomes uncomfortable to wear indoors, unless you're in an overheated space), it's a not-too-heavily-stressed object (so the rather soft and not-tightly-spun yarn won't wear too much). My only gripe is that wow, there's a lot of grafting on that baby. (You knit the thing in two halves - so the pattern will be symmetrical - and the graft line is around the equator of the cowl). However, I think the grafting was worth it to give the symmetricallity.

I think this would make a good gift for someone living in a cold climate. And though it's lacy, I think done in a masculine-looking yarn, it would (probably*) be appropriate for a man.

(*Still, I know at least a few men who wouldn't wear it because of the "lace" - even made in their favorite color and a soft yarn).

I was also reading a Hamish MacBeth mystery at the time where the author talked about the "crofters" (people who live on small landholdings...I'm not quite sure of the legal status, I don't entirely understand the crofting laws and reform, at least as the Hamish MacBeth mysteries mention them).

***

Charles, in case the e-mail didn't make it through: yes, they are "Paddie" shoes. The company is "Privo" by Clark's, not "Primo" as I first said. I had to look them up on Zappo's to be sure as I didn't keep the box and the name of the particular shoe is not printed in it. They're the brown with brown nubuck color; I see there are several other color combinations.