Misti Alpaca Pima Silk.

aka another yarn crush. I know. They're coming fast and furious aren't they? Yes, the last one was just three weeks ago. (and yes, I haven't even cast on my Rill Scarf yet...later this week, I hope!) But that's how it goes when the temperatures warm just a bit and the trees start to blossom and the birds are chirping madly and a new yarn from Misti Alpaca arrives and it takes all my will power not to drop everything and cast on something. immediately.

Monday was a day like that.

The yarn is Pima Silk. It's a blend of 83% pima cotton and 17% silk in a DK weight and a generous 327 yards per skein. We have tonal solids in nearly all the colors and the hand paints in confetti and guilded lilys (don't you love that name?)

Believe me, this stuff is soft. The colors are vibrant. And at 327 yards per skein, it screams cowl to me.

I spent Monday night searching Ravelry for suitable patterns and I have three recommendations to share with you.

First, for the variegated handpaints, I'd suggest the Honey Cowl . That pattern is my favorite to show off pretty colors and it knits up fast and easy. (Note: The pattern is written for a light worsted yarn and a gauge of 5 st/in. The Pima Silk suggests 5.5 st/in on a size 6 needle; at that gauge, 176 stitches will give you a 32" long cowl.)

And how pretty would it be fastened with one of Kathy's pins?

the Confetti colorway

For the solids, I have two suggestions, both free patterns (available on Ravelry) from the lovely ladies at Kelbourne Woolens.

The first is Wicker Cowl . It's a straightforward charted lace pattern with a 10-stitch repeat, sized for a DK yarn, so you can simply follow the pattern as written.  The second is Avery Cowl . It's also a charted lace pattern, but more complex (34 stitches over 24 rows) and suited for an intermediate lace knitter. The pattern is sized for DK yarn, so you can follow it as written.

We had fun pairing the tonal colorways with more of Kathy's pins.

...and I managed to get through my crazy case of startitis by living vicariously through Lucille!

Lucille's Wicker Cowl...started, and accessorized!