So what's a knitter to do when she's home from work in a heatwave?

Knit icord.

Lots of icord.

And embellish with stashed buttons to make jewelry.  Can I call it jewelry?  Certainly they are accessories. Meh, whatever, they are pretty and achieved not only from stash but from scraps.  That must score off the scale on the thrift-o-metre!

Here TOF's nameless childhood teddy models Garbo Garnets made from scraps of 4ply maroon wool left over from a matinee jacket and booties set.

I bought the yarn in a HUGE bag of industrial leftovers from Marrickville Reverse Garbage 12 or more years ago.

The buttons on the necklace came from a shirt I picked up from the free bins at the Green Shed recently.  The button on the bracelet is from button stash.

The yarn weighed 6 grams and there are 3 grams left, so more bangles may be in order.  The necklace is 57cm long, the bangle 19cm long.  Both are finished with a button loop.




































This necklace, Noose, is from scraps of Woollen Rabbit Pandora (Wool/bamboo/nylon blend) in the colourway Robin's Nest.  The button is from my mother's stash.  Originally I had planned to embellish this all the way around with pearl buttons, but I really like it this way.  It will look great against my predominantly black wardrobe or over a white shirt.  The sheen on this yarn is delicious.

The necklace measures 240cm and also has a button loop. The yarn is left over from a shawlette that is currently blocking and there are still 9g of it left.  I think I will make another pair of Saartjes booties from it - this yarn doesn't feel like it wants to be bangles.

Better Cowl

We're off to New Zealand in September for the Rugby World Cup.  A cowl that keeps my neck and head warm will be of more use than a scarf and hat and it needs to be light weight as luggage weights are tight.

As the alpaca cowl didn't meet all of those requirements, I looked for another pattern.  The Imagination Cowl from Knitpicks was just the thing.

Knitted in Moda Vera Noir sock yarn (bought for less than $6 a ball at Scablight last Christmas sales), it took all of two x 100 gram balls.

I mistook the pattern initially but the flared lower edge works brilliantly and sits over my shoulders, while the ruching pattern keeps it close enough to the neck and face for warmth without strangulation.

This one is a winner.

The pattern is free.  It is Ravelled here and on the Knitpicks website here.