miriam felton designs Archives

a year in the making: my chromaticity cowl

penny on February 26, 2015

Over a year ago, Miriam Felton hosted a knit-a-long for her Chromaticity Cowl, and I jumped in. I went stash diving and knew that one of the yarns would be the leftovers of some Fleece Artist in my favourite colour, moss, that I purchased in 2007. The other colours were the challenge. I knew I wanted the green to be the star so the others would be greys, but I wasn’t sure even after doing black and white photo contrast tests if I chose the correct yarns until I started knitting. My initial choices did not provide enough contrast so I set the project aside for many months.

A month ago, while I was reorganizing my yarn stash and reviewing UFOs (unfinished objects), I pulled this project out and decided to finish it. I changed a few things, I only knit 5 rounds of hexagons instead of the seven Miriam designed and while my floats are neat, I decided to fully line it to help use up all of the charcoal and dove grey yarns. It’s a beautiful cowl and I’m very happy with it. What surprised me the most is that there are still a few yards of Fleece Artist remaining!

Chromaticity Cowl
by Miriam Felton
knit January 1, 2014 to February 14, 2015 (with a long break!)
3mm Knitter’s Pride Karbonz
Yarns: Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Moss and The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Charcoal and Dove.
my Ravelry project page

This was a lovely design to knit and I recommend Miriam’s entire Modern Colorwork Collection!

spring and summer socks

penny on April 24, 2014

Recently most of my knitting has been for others, so it was nice to join a group test knitting for the awesome Miriam Felton. That pattern is now available and I’m really excited about it. My sock drawer has become thin of late. So it was a nice bonus to knit two pair of socks for me, and I’m carrying the yarn for a third in my little swift.

Footie socks provide just enough coverage to be comfortable with clogs, toms, or just wandering around the house. Yes, I’ve knitted two pair so far and see many more in my future. They’re a little like popcorn, you can’t stop at just one…

The absolute genius of Miriam’s newest design is that she includes sizing for the whole family over a wide range of yarn weights from a fine fingering to a DK (6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 stitches per inch)! There is also a useful reference sheet you can download to keep track of important information for each pair you’re working on.

I was delighted to test the penny-friendly sizes both for gauge (9 and 10 spi) and foot (circumference 7″, foot length 8.5″). Both pair hug my feet and fit perfectly with my clogs. I’ve worn them out and about with no slippage and just as importantly no blisters at the end of the day. Each pair uses very little yarn, so little in fact that I will be able to knit myself (I have tiny feet) three pair from that one skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine! This is a great warm weather project, there’s not much sock to have on your lap while knitting or wearing.

You can view my project pages with some additional notes for both pair at:
9 SPI (2mm needles): Ravelry | Craftsy
10 SPI (1.5mm needles): Ravelry | Craftsy
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Steel Cut Oats (#1214)

Note: It’s quite possible that your knitting tension is different from mine so it’s unlikely you’ll need to use incredibly tiny needles for a light fingering yarn.

The PDF pattern is available for purchase at both Ravelry and Craftsy, and you can learn more at miriamfelton.com.

But wait! There’s another new pair of socks in my drawer! Back during those long days of wondering-when-will-it-end winter, a few friends jumped on the self-striping craze and I became smitten. I was delighted to learn that Patons Kroy Socks line had some (new-to-me) colours and I set out to make my own pair. My new plan is that unless I have a specific deadline, my errand running project will be socks for me. A round here, a round there, and I have a new pair of socks. With that plan in place, yesterday I finally finished them and I’m wearing these new socks today. The Kroy wears well and it’s easy to find for those days when nothing in the stash will do. The colours make me happy though I wish I had cut out all the white bits.

It’s exciting to finally see spring colour (and warm sun) outside and not just in my yarn choices.