Stretchy Yellow

Each year, my ladies group at Church, draws names to select a secret pal for the year.  We learn their birthday, anniversary, favourite colour and favourite season.  Throughout the year, we send cards and little gifts to encourage and remember our secret pal. 

Look what I've knit for my yellow-loving, secret pal.

 

What the heck is it you might ask when you see it laid flat on my bed.  But around my neck, in 3D fashion, you can see it is a fun cowl.

The pattern, the 3 Rib Cowl by Debbie Seton is  a free ravelry pattern.  Easy to knit, it is a great mindless project. The finished results belie the easiness and that is always a good thing.

I love the way it drapes in such fun fashion.  I've pulled it in varous directions to show you how stretchy it is. 

 

That stretch was helped, in part,  by my own personal version of Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off  in which  every 10 stitches or so, I make,  then immediately bind off,  an extra stitch. ( I find  JSSBO so stretchy as to be sloppy.  My version does a make one versus a yarn over and I only do that make one  every ten or so stitches versus every stitch.)

Instead of the Aran weight yarn called for in the pattern, I used DK, Cabin Fever Cotton Tweed with a 5.5mm needle.  With my smaller gauge yarn, I guessed at an appropriate number of stitches to cast on that would give me the same length/look as the pattern.  My memory is failing me but I believe I cast on about 166 sts.  I like the look.

This one will wait to be delivered until we exchange Christmas gifts.  If I were to give it to my yellow-loving, 'secret pal' now, my identity would be secret no longer.    I have a reputatuion as 'the knitter' in the group.