FO Friday: The Secret Handshake Cowl

Honestly I tried to get a photo of myself wearing the cowl but I could not get one that actually showed the cowl. We are experiencing a fall snowstorm (lucky us, let’s hope the power stays on) so lighting is poor and there was no way I was trying for a good bathroom mirror photo. Take my word, it would be horrible.

The pattern is The Secret Handshake MKAL Cowl by Sharon from Security with help from Casapinka. I happened to start my Loopy Academy TAG projects as Casapinka’s Ravelry group was working on The Sharon Show, another MKAL hosted by Sharon From Security, Casapinka’s cat. They were having so much crazy fun that I was swept up in their excitement and interrupted my projects to join in. Being able to use stash yarn was a major bonus. The yarn I used is Spud & Chloe fine in dragonfly, dachshund and lizard and Less Traveled Yarn in berry bramble. Funny aside: Myles destroyed the yarn labels so I had to look on the blog to find the color names. Fortunately I included this information when I bought the skeins. I bought the Spud & Chloe in 2011 and the Less Traveled Yarn in 2019 both from Circle of Stitches in Salem MA. How crazy that yarn purchased from the same infrequently visited yarn shop bought 8 years apart would end up in the same cowl. It’s almost like it was meant to be.

I really enjoyed knitting the cowl for a number of reasons. A handful and a half years back I swore off MKALs after being badly burned by a lace weight asymmetrical shawl. It wasn’t entirely the designers fault but the words “bird wing” should have been used in the description. I love the way colorwork looks but I have a hard time keeping an even tension throughout particularly when there are long floats. This pattern uses one yarn per row. The appearance of colorwork comes from slipped stitches. So many of the stitches in this pattern were new to me. I was able to learn lots of new things in small sections. It didn’t feel daunting at all. The balance of colors tames the bright green, a color I like but doesn’t necessarily look great on me. I will knit more patterns by Casapinka and Sharon From Security. I currently have two more on the needles and look forward to more in the future.

The yarn ended up working very well together even though the Less Traveled Yarn was a bit finer. I enjoy the feeling of both brands and would use them again.

Overall this project is a huge win. While it is a longer but narrowish cowl, it fits well and looks nice when on. Take my word for it.