The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour - Bagatelle Cowl

Welcome to Stop 8 on The Boardwalk Collection blog tour! When Kettle Yarn Co. first contacted me about being a part of this endeavour to highlight the new DK version of her extremely popular Islington fingering weight yarn, I was thrilled with the inspiration and design spec - Linda asked for pieces with lots of negative space, highlighted with geometric lace designs. I was hooked!

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

I've always loved the seaside, and spent vast amounts of time growing up on the beaches of New England, particularly Maine. Those rocky, somewhat barren shores have very little resemblance to the more cosmopolitan beaches of places like Brighton and Lyme Regis, but the salty breeze and calls of the seagulls are constant. With the Bagatelle Cowl, I wanted to capture the lines of piers emerging from the water's surface, ebbing and flowing as the tides go in and out.

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

Bagatelle is knit in the round, and the focal point is a strongly vertical lace pattern that biases across the face of the cowl. The edges are finished in simple seed stitch, evoking pebbly beaches. The pattern includes both written and charted instructions, but if you're new to knitting from charts, this pattern would be a good starting point, as the lace stitch itself is very simple. The pattern uses 2 skeins of Islington DK, and is plenty long enough to double up around the neck.

Bagatelle Cowl in Islington DK in "Peony", image copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

The Islington DK base is perfect for this type of accessory - hefty enough to give real warmth to the finished item (perfect for our somewhat inconsistent British summer weather or for the transition into autumn), but with beautiful drape and swing. The combination of 55% Bluefaced Leicester and 45% silk results in a yarn with plenty of elasticity and luxurious shiny softness. And the colours are perfection...

The Boardwalk Collection includes patterns from a phenomenal group of designers: Arcade by Isabell Kraemer, Pavilion by Renée Callahan, Promenade by Maria Magnusson, Seaward by Rachel Coopey and Jetty by Linda Lencovic. You can see all the designs on Issuu or (hopefully) in the preview below.

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The next stop on the Boardwalk Collection tour will be Coopknits. And don't forget, there's a Boardwalk Collection KAL that's just started on the Kettle Yarn Co. Ravelry group. And don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour:

You will find the rest of the blog tour here:

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 1 – Kettle Yarn Co

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 2 – A Playful Day

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 3 – Isabell Kraemer

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 4 – Curious Handmade

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Stop 5 - Shinybees

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Stop 6 - Renée Callahan

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 7 – Maria Magnusson

The Boardwalk Collection Blog Tour Part 8 - Knitted Bliss

Bagatelle Cowl

I'm super excited to show off my latest pattern release, the Bagatelle Cowl, part of the Boardwalk Collection from Kettle Yarn Co., which is launching tomorrow, 13 July.

Photo copyright 2015 Juju Vail for Kettle Yarn Co.

I'll have a lot more to say about this pattern on (revised date) 4 August, when I'll talk about the design in detail for the blog tour for the collection, but suffice to say that Linda's new yarn base, Islington DK, was a dream to work with, and I loved every second of working with it. Don't miss the launch of the collection and the blog tour on Linda's blog tomorrow. And you can see all of the patterns in the collection on Ravelry.

Bonfire Night

I love Bonfire Night. OK, the historical events that led to this ever-so-British of autumnal celebrations are maybe not my favorite, but a big fire, complete with an evil perpetrator being burned in effigy followed by fireworks? That is a start of winter send off that I can get behind.

And this week, winter has suddenly reached out its icy fingertips and stroked England's collective cheek in warning - I am here, I am coming for you. Brrrr! So it seems fitting that this month's new pattern should be a perfect match for the day and the weather. Meet Bonfire Night:

Bonfire Night is a super cozy, super fast knit that is perfect to wear huddled around your friendly neighborhood bonfire this Guy Fawkes Day. Its bulky wool and cozy thick cables will snuggle around your neck and up over your ears, keeping you toasty warm through the night. Shown above, worked in Lioness Arts Roar!, a super squishy 100% superwash merino, or below in Debbie Bliss Paloma, a lovely alpaca/merino blend, this cowl comes in two sizes to suit every need. Tubular cast on and bind off make for perfectly matching hems, and a super elastic edge. 

SKILLS NEEDED: Knitting, purling, working in the round, cabling, tubular cast on and bind off. Links to tutorials for the cast on and bind off are included in the pattern.

The cowl is worked in the round on circular needles. The pattern includes both a charted cable pattern and written stitch pattern instructions, if you don't like charts.

SIZES: Small (large), approximately 17 (22.5) in/43 (57) cm in circumference, and 10 (14) in/25.5 (35.5) cm tall.

YARDAGE: Super bulky yarn, approximately 140 (205) yds/128 (188) m. Shown in Debbie Bliss Paloma (73 yds/50 g) in Fuschia, and Lioness Arts Roar! (108 yds/100 g) in Moonlight.

Many thanks to Dani Sunshine of Lioness Arts for yarn support, and R. Deborah Overath for technical editing. You can purchase Bonfire Night either by clicking on the "buy now" button below, or from my Ravelry Store.

I hope you enjoy this pattern, and stay warm out there!

Bonfire Night, a cowl in two sizes ($5.00)