Arbutus and Cuffs
I spoiled Christmas. My daughter didn’t have class that day; so when I saw it was neither stormy nor smoky from the marsh fires, I grabbed her for a few photos of one of her Christmas gifts from me: the Arbutus cowl and Becca’s Boot Cuffs.
First up: the cowl.  Did you recognize it from Jane Richmond’s Island? It’s my first knit from the book, but will not be my last.  I want to make everything in it before the next year is up.  I’m particularly excited about knitting Strathcona in a colorway inspired by the downtown square of my favorite city to have lived in.
It is so rare that I make something without one single hitch. Â Okay, I did twist my cast on row when joining to work in the round the first time; otherwise, this cowl was cinchy.
I used a long, size 3 circular and magic looped this. Â Check out the tiered construction! Â So cool. Â When my daughter requested it, she actually thought it was a thin, doubled cowl in the photo. Â As I began working on it, she was doubtful. Â I think she was afraid it was a balaclava.
The City Tweed dk was a really good substitute for the suggested Madelinetosh.  In fact I prefer the softness of alpaca and the look of tweed.  The alpaca blend feels so good against the neck and is a little more drapey than wool would be all by itself.  That  drapiness made this cowl work so well.
Of course, after she tried it on today I had to wrestle her to get it back for gift-wrapping.
Now, about those boot cuffs. Â They were designed by one of my Ravelry friends, Rebecca Gunderson. You may think I’ve become the crazy boot cuff lady since I’ve made so many. Â This is my last pair to knit as a gift. (I still have to make my own.
I used City Tweed Aran in the same color, blue blood. Â The properties that made City Tweed so perfect for Arbutus, made my boot cuffs too loose. Â So, I reduced the number of stockinette stitches by four.
The funny thing was, my daughter was wearing shorts and a tank top when I asked her to take photos with me. Â (We live in the humid south.) Â She pulled the cuffs on over her flip flops, up to her shins, and called them flip flop cuffs. Â We laughed at our white trashiness, but before we were done taking these photos the temperature dropped like 15 degrees and it did become boot weather.
The pictures are lovely, as always. I've seen Arbutus a bunch of times but I never knew the construction was interesting! I'm partial to the multi-wrap cowl and this piece accomplishes it without extra bulk , which is nice when you live in the South (although it is cold this week in Durham!) and cowls are more decorative than functional. I love boots (and have more pairs of them) than most anybody I know so naturally I think these cuffs are amazing. Surprisingly, I don't have any cuffs of my own but I do have enough City Tweed in the exact same colorway to make them.
Thank you, Sara! I just finished my own cuffs in City Tweed and I love them! I reduced the stockinette portion of the cuffs by a few stitches so the City Tweed would fit snug.
The cuffs and cowl are great! I bet it was hard for her to give them up until Christmas. Great pics. I live in the south (Arkansas), but we were just hit with some snow and ice and much of the town was shut down from last Thursday till today. I'm jealous of all the greenery in your pics, but then again, it's definitely sweater weather here.
lovely and so cozy looking!
I have been following along with your boot cuff making with interest. These gorgeous pics sealed the deal. Will be making a pair for myself very soon! Lovely daughter!
I have been lurking, reading your blog for almost a whole year (since the lovely cardi you made for the Downton Abbey KAL) (your blog is one of my favorites!) and this cowl is the thing that's finally brought me out of lurk! What a cool cowl, and such a smart design. Your photoshoot of it is just styled perfectly, too. Lovely, lovely knit accessories.
Thank you, Cassy. It was hard for her to give up, but she's not getting as many gifts as in years past (Once they hit a certain age, they mainly want tech gifts) so I wanted her to have a few more things to unwrap.
Don't be jealous, all the greenery is about to die or turn a sickly yellow. Then we'll have moderate cold, no view, and no snow. 🙂
Thank you, Vanessa! I can't wait to see your Arbutus and cuffs! I want an Arbutus for myself, but I'm committed to some other knits from Journey and finishing sleeves at the moment.
Thanks, Britt!
Thank you, Tien! I'm anxious to see your yarn choice for these!
Thank you! I'm so glad you commented, Laura! I originally started this blog for my own benefit, but over the years have seen it grow to become a dialog between myself and other knitters, crafters, photographers, women, men, etc. I love meeting people through it. If you're on Ravelry please friend me.
You're right, Arbutus is incredibly cool! I like knitting for the stuff I get to wear, but it's so much fun when the process is interesting too.
As for the "photoshoot" , she was only home for a few minutes and we raced outside to catch the last little bit of light. I took so many failed photos. I'm just going to have to wear glasses most of the time now- I can't tell when I'm in focus anymore. 🙂