I've so enjoyed sharing my knitted creations with those I love in recent times.  For one it's nice to give something I put my time and effort into to someone that I know will enjoy it, not to mention having the joy of seeing my projects do some good for people other than myself.  Also, as selfish as I may like to be in my crafty adventures, it's probably a good thing to not have everything I've ever made slowly filling up my closet space to the point where nothing else fits.  

This time around in the knitted gift endeavor, I decided to make a dear friend of mine a rich foresty green cowl for his birthday.  I'm fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who appreciate a good knit. 

The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage in the colour Joshua Tree, and was magnificently scrunchy.  The only trouble I found with it was that capturing the colour in photos proved to be a bit tricky, but I had to try so you could "ooo" and "awww" over the colours with me.

One of the things I wasn't crazy about with the last cowl I did was that I made it too short.  I wanted to make this one long enough that it could cover the wearer's nose, mouth, and ears while also still giving protection to the neck.  Which means I tried it on repeatedly throughout the knitting process and took silly photos to share.

It knit up perfectly for me, and I managed to finish it with plenty of time to wash it, block it, and let it dry before wrapping it up and giving it to him.  He seemed quite happy, in case you're curious or have that all too familiar dread of sharing things you create with others.  

While I think that art, ideally, is fun and encouraging to share, I also recommend keeping your tender feelings in mind when gifting what you make.  Your time, investment, and love are worth a significant amount, and you deserve to be appreciated.  Granted, not everyone is going to fully notice your fabulous stitch work (that's why you have sweet crafty friends like Alexis) but it doesn't mean they won't love and enjoy what you make.  Sharing lets people into a world that you care about, and in a strange way allows you to be a bit vulnerable with someone you love.  

Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned

Because of the items I gravitate towards in knitting, my projects tend to be things that are worked on and finished in a matter of months or sometimes a year.  What can I say?  I like a commitment and adore a challenge.  

I realised recently though, that it can often curb my motivation and leave you- my dear reader, with only hand dyeing adventures to read about week in and week out.  So I thought for the sanity of all of us, I would do a nice cowl in beautiful Malabrigo Rios: Zazamora.

The yarn itself was a present from my mother on the holidays, and I quickly remembered why she is the ultimate queen of colours.  The yarn flowed gracefully between greens, purples, and blues- which was all snuggled in by grey undertones.  

And, just as I had hoped, it made for deliciously easy quick knitting.  I love working with changing colours, and this was a perfect taste of that to make this cowl fly off the needles in a matter of days.  

Which is especially lovely since it seems the weather has decided on snow no matter where I'm going.  The universe appears to find it fitting to have people snuggle on in and get to knitting (or whatever it is that people do).

Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned.