One of the best parts of my job is when I get a new ball of yarn to play with.  There is nothing like getting a ball of yarn that isn’t even on the market and asked to design something with it. Sky is the limit…free to do anything I want…that much freedom is almost crippling!  

When I got the new Angora yarn from Bijou Bain Ranch called Seraphim I was giddy with excitement.  Not only are the colors right up my ally but it is an angora yarn that I can actually use without sneezing every five minutes.  See, this angora yarn doesn’t get super fuzzy like other yarns I have used in the past.  It has the perfect hand while knitting and the finished project has a soft halo.  Not a lot of fuzz at all but a nice classy look.  So what should I make?

Should I make a garment?  Should I make an accessory?  Yes, and accessory…that’s the ticket.  But what kind of accessory; hat, scarf, gloves, cowl…YES, a COWL!!!  Oversized–definitely!  It will really show off the yarn.  I knew I wanted a fairly easy lace stitch so I went to my trusty stitch dictionaries and picked a few that I thought would be a great fit with this yarn.

The end result is the Fir Trees Cowl, named after the stitch I used.  It is an oversized cowl that combines two of my favorite elements: openwork/lacy patterning and an angora yarn. Seraphim is perfect at showing off stitch definition and is amazingly soft against the skin. Make with only one ball of yarn it’s the perfect pattern to try something new.

NOTE: Pattern written to be knit flat but can easily be made to be knit in the round by eliminating 2 stitches at the ends.

It is available for purchase from Bijou Basin Ranch for 6.00

The cowl was debuted at STITCHES West along side the new yarn.  It was very well received!  But, you have to know that since I got the yarn at the end of January  that meant that I had little time to actually design a piece, get the piece made and then photograph it before I had to leave for STITCHES!

Call in the cavalry!  I thank GOD everyday for my outstanding team of contract knitters and crocheters.  I called one of them and she got it done in three days.  Then it was on to one of my most beautiful friends to model the piece.  Again, I thank GOD everyday for my best friend.

On the day we were able to do the photo shoot s it was a SUPER WINDY!  But we did it!  With all 7 kids (my 3 and her 4) we met up and I did a photo shoot.  Thinking back, we are lucky that her son wasn’t blown away with the reflector as he held it for me while I took photos.  However, I was so happy he was there because he was a HUGE HELP!  

At the end of the day we did finally get a good shot but it took a lot of not-so-great shots to get there.  Totally not Jenni’s fault…since I am totally new to this whole photography thing I didn’t exactly get the right shots but hey, I am learning 🙂

I am leaving you with a LOT of shots from the photo shoot.  Take a look and tell me which one you like!