Peek-a-boo.
Pattern: Vostok 1, by Jenny F
Yarn: madelinetosh tosh sock, in Copper Penny
Needles: 4 mm / US 6
This one was actually finished about a month ago! But the pattern wasn't released until more recently (last week, I think?), and the designer requested a media ban until publication, so I had to keep it all on the down-low.
I managed to get myself a spot test knitting this one, and let me tell you, when you find a great designer, this test knitter gig is pretty sweet. This cowl is effectively a short study in biased knitting - you work your way through four different motifs worked on the bias, and at the end you have a clever tube without working any seams. My tube seems to not be quite as wide as the designer's sample - hence my ability to scootch it up bandit-style - but this is probably due at least in part to my relaxed and gentle blocking procedure (AKA, "What's a pin?"). Still, my finished piece can be worn as an actual cowl:
Admittedly a small, lightweight cowl - so a spring/summer accessory piece. Although now that I think about it, it would totally work as a neck-cozying layer under a warmer coat in colder temperatures too.
In other news, I was sort of glad for the media ban on this one, since for the past two months or so I've been struggling with a terrible eczema breakout on my face. It all started fairly innocently - the temperature dropped in February, as it typically does, and I started to get some dry spots on my forehead and temples. Since nothing about that scene was unusual, I just tried being a bit more heavy-handed with my moisturizer, and continued on with my life. The cold persisted, the dryness worsened, and then one night I washed my face as usual and immediately my skin freaked out - it went all dry and stiff and tight as soon as I had blotted away the water. I figured I had developed some sort of intolerance to my cleanser, and rustled up some samples I had kicking around to see if things improved over the next day or two. They seemed to, and so I did a bit of poking about online, and settled on a new cleanser to try. For the first three or four days, it seemed to be doing the trick. Then I started noticing a prickling sensation as I washed my face, and then some patches along my jawline and eyes started to get tender and a bit pink. I bought another cleanser to try, and used that twice before my skin freaked right out again - much worse this time, pretty well my entire face except for my nose, and one spot about the size of a dime on my left cheek went pink/red. I returned those two cleansers - so thankful for Sephora's return policy - and picked up one that claims to be hypoallergenic. I also changed my cleansing routine, changed my moisturizer, and basically stopped using all the products I was using when that first freak-out happened, in case I had developed some sensitivity to one of them. In desperation, I used some prescription hydrocortisone cream to calm the inflammation, and that worked, but it kept coming back.
So, while it's clearly not bad in the photos here - I took them before it flared up again last Thursday - I still don't know what's causing it. But the subsequent flare-ups are not as severe as the earlier ones, and while I'm definitely not in the clear this week, this week's flare is not too bad - maybe whatever it is is just slowly healing? I don't know, but I'm so done with this. I'm planning on picking up a couple more eczema-friendly products to try this weekend. We'll see.
Pattern: Vostok 1, by Jenny F
Yarn: madelinetosh tosh sock, in Copper Penny
Needles: 4 mm / US 6
This one was actually finished about a month ago! But the pattern wasn't released until more recently (last week, I think?), and the designer requested a media ban until publication, so I had to keep it all on the down-low.
I managed to get myself a spot test knitting this one, and let me tell you, when you find a great designer, this test knitter gig is pretty sweet. This cowl is effectively a short study in biased knitting - you work your way through four different motifs worked on the bias, and at the end you have a clever tube without working any seams. My tube seems to not be quite as wide as the designer's sample - hence my ability to scootch it up bandit-style - but this is probably due at least in part to my relaxed and gentle blocking procedure (AKA, "What's a pin?"). Still, my finished piece can be worn as an actual cowl:
Admittedly a small, lightweight cowl - so a spring/summer accessory piece. Although now that I think about it, it would totally work as a neck-cozying layer under a warmer coat in colder temperatures too.
In other news, I was sort of glad for the media ban on this one, since for the past two months or so I've been struggling with a terrible eczema breakout on my face. It all started fairly innocently - the temperature dropped in February, as it typically does, and I started to get some dry spots on my forehead and temples. Since nothing about that scene was unusual, I just tried being a bit more heavy-handed with my moisturizer, and continued on with my life. The cold persisted, the dryness worsened, and then one night I washed my face as usual and immediately my skin freaked out - it went all dry and stiff and tight as soon as I had blotted away the water. I figured I had developed some sort of intolerance to my cleanser, and rustled up some samples I had kicking around to see if things improved over the next day or two. They seemed to, and so I did a bit of poking about online, and settled on a new cleanser to try. For the first three or four days, it seemed to be doing the trick. Then I started noticing a prickling sensation as I washed my face, and then some patches along my jawline and eyes started to get tender and a bit pink. I bought another cleanser to try, and used that twice before my skin freaked right out again - much worse this time, pretty well my entire face except for my nose, and one spot about the size of a dime on my left cheek went pink/red. I returned those two cleansers - so thankful for Sephora's return policy - and picked up one that claims to be hypoallergenic. I also changed my cleansing routine, changed my moisturizer, and basically stopped using all the products I was using when that first freak-out happened, in case I had developed some sensitivity to one of them. In desperation, I used some prescription hydrocortisone cream to calm the inflammation, and that worked, but it kept coming back.
So, while it's clearly not bad in the photos here - I took them before it flared up again last Thursday - I still don't know what's causing it. But the subsequent flare-ups are not as severe as the earlier ones, and while I'm definitely not in the clear this week, this week's flare is not too bad - maybe whatever it is is just slowly healing? I don't know, but I'm so done with this. I'm planning on picking up a couple more eczema-friendly products to try this weekend. We'll see.
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