To say that I love my Glorious Gradients cowl is a ridiculous understatement.
I freaking adore this cowl. I love it fiercely. I truly believe that everything about it is absolutely perfect and I’m having a very hard time not asking everyone I see to pet my cowl. The pattern is Foolproof by Louise Zass-Bangham and it is enjoyable and clever, I highly recommend it. While the pattern is wonderful, the yarn makes this cowl even more amazing. Let’s go back to its humble beginnings.
Three months ago, this yarn was just a bundle of beautifully-dyed fluff from a local indie dyer, June Pryce Fiber Arts. I split each braid into color sections, light blue to teal for one skein and green to dark blue to purple for the other. I spun and then chain-plied each single to preserve the color sequence in just 3 weeks (pretty fast for me!). I ended up with about 540 yards of 100% BFL wool, DK weight yarn.
I hemmed and hawed over the pattern for a while but finally settled on Foolproof and couldn’t be happier. I was a bit worried that I would finish the pattern before I got to the purple part of the skein but it all worked out wonderfully. The BFL is soft and drapey with a lovely sheen and a bit of a fuzzy-happy halo. The garter stitch evens out any spinning inconsistencies on my part and the gradient dyeing looks fabulous in the stripes. It blocked out a bit longer than I expected (63″ circumference, 8″ wide) but is a great length to wear looped loosely or twice around the neck. Finally, it’s composed of nearly all my favorite colors ever.
Gratuitous close-up
Long story short: I will likely never take this thing off. Also: knitting with handspun is fabulous. Also: I want more gradient yarn. And a coordinating hat. And more BFL.
Check out more finished objects at Tamis Amis!
Woolen Diversions 
That is amazing! I think you are right – you did a stunning job! I am still in awe of your spinning and how you got those gradients so perfect 🙂
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Thanks, Lisa! There were a few spots in the green-to-blue transition that aren’t absolutely perfect but it’s good enough for me!
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Completely gorgeous–both the spinning and the knitting. I can see why you are in love with it:)
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Thank you! 🙂
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Stunning! I would be in love with this too!!!
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You should knit one! 😉
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Lovely! The colors are gorgeous and I love the striping pattern.
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The striping was super fun to do.
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That’s definitely a great cowl. LOVE the colorway!
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The dyer changes what she has in stock periodically, the fiber was really nice so I definitely recommend her!
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If I were a spinner, I’d jump all over it. But the spinning bug has never bitten me, which is probably a good thing. Between books, yarn, and Doctor Who, my marriage may not survive another obsession. 😉
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haha I haven’t gotten the Dr Who bug yet but I figure it’s only a matter of time if so many other knitters love it…
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I love anything BFL, too. Probably why I bought 2 of them and bred them. Bouncing BFL Babies in the spring!
The cowl is lovely 🙂
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I think I’m going to need some BFL sheep, myself, someday. The fiber is just lovely.
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BFL Babies!! How cute!!
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Pretty! Very pretty! Including the spinning. Also, that was a lot of spinning in only 3 weeks.
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Yeah, when I checked the dates I was actually pretty surprised at myself. Fastest spinning I’ve done yet, for sure!
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Beautiful! You deserve to be proud.
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Thank you! 😀
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Awesome!! Well done!
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Thank you much!
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So beautiful! I love that it is made from your gorgeous handspun most of all. The pattern works so well with the gradient yarn. This one is going on my future to-knit list for sure.
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It was a really fun pattern, simple and satisfying knitting.
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Pingback: IS #42: Handspun Inspiration | Woolen Diversions
I LOVE it! And I love seeing the start to finish. I have so much handspun that I haven’t used…In fact I think I’ve only ever knit one skein of my handspun, and I gave it away!
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