Featured FO: LaurenS's Understory Cowl

Are you knitting the Understory Cowl along with The Wool Dispensary this month?

Here's a beautiful FO from one KAL knitter - LaurenS.

(C) LaurenSHer cowl isn't blocked yet, but it's gorgeous already! I was so excited about her FO that I asked to post about it immediately!

(C) LaurenSLauren made the Understory Cowl pattern her own by decreasing the circumference by 12 sts, and working 9 full repeats of the fir cone lace pattern.

You can check out her full project details on Ravelry.

Lauren's gorgeous, squishy cowl is knit up using The Wool Dispensary's Greater Poison yarn in the Georgia Building Castles colorway.

(C) LaurenSAll images used with permission.

Understory Cowl KAL - Earn Free Patterns!

Earlier this month I mentioned that I will be hosting a knitalong with The Wool Dispensary for my Understory Cowl pattern this April.

If you haven't already knit with Wool Dispensary yarns, I recommend you give Imperial Poison a try. But, of course, you're welcome to join in the KAL fun using whatever you've got in your stash!

And, in the name of fun, I've decided to award those who participate in the KAL with free patterns from my Ravelry store.

Stipulations: You must complete the Understory Cowl, upload photos to Ravelry, and post them in this thread by end of day (your timezone) April 30th to qualify. Everyone who submits a completed project to the thread by this time will be given a discount code for one free pattern of your choice from my Ravelry store.

To spice things up, I'll also be giving away 3 copies of my Hot Child in the City pattern collection. These will be chosen by random from the project submissions at the end of the KAL.

**Note:** Those participants using Imperial Poison (or other TWD yarns for the project will be entered into the Hot Child giveaway twice - once for completing the Understory Cowl, and once for your support of TWD).

Good luck and I hope you'll join in on the fun!

April KAL - Understory Cowl

What is happening to our spring weather?! It's currently 80 degrees, sunny and muggy as hell in Chicago. More like a July day than a March one!

My wardrobe is not prepared! And woe is me, all of my lovely springtime knits will not see much sunshine this year.

A sad thought indeed. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of rainy days for knitting! (There better be, anyway...)

Planning for those April showers, I'm co-hosting a knit-a-long for my Understory Cowl pattern with Sam.

The cowl design centered around the woolly goodness that is Imperial Poison, a spongy, soft aran weight wool handdyed by The Wool Dispensary.

Did I mention this cowl pattern is free? Yup, you should definitely go download it. Now.

The yarn base comes from Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon. If your LYS carries Imperial Stock Ranch, you may have come across their lovely yarns in the past - lucky you. The Wool Dispensary takes the amazing, lofty goodness and adds an indie touch to it, dyeing in small batches on the stovetop in the Chicago neighborhood of Wicker Park.

Sam recently updated the TWD online shop to include some preview colorways for the Fall 2012 collection based on old fashioned fairy tales, such as Ogre Bogies (below).

These colors, combined with the previous collection inspired by the circus (see On the Back Lot below), make for an amazing array of bright and earthy semisolid yarns - all perfect for the Understory Cowl.

The pattern takes approximately 1.3 skeins of Imperial Poison, so you definitely have enough left over for a pair of mitts or a hat if you purchase 2 skeins.

Get ready for April!