Have you ever made Russian Fudge? If you're from New Zealand you may have. You've probably tasted it at least. Russian Fudge is the Myrtle family's go to recipe for teachers' gifts. It includes condensed milk and cooks to the colour of, well, the colour of my Arbutus cowl. It's my favourite flavour of fudge, by a long shot.
I'm very pleased with my Russian Fudge coloured cowl. And, thanks to the very lovely Georgie Hallam aka Tikki on Ravelry, I have now become acquainted with quite possibly the best short rows I have ever come across. After my recent rather dismal short rows Georgie dropped me a line telling me about German short rows. (Have you come across Georgie? Remember I recently knitted a couple of her very pretty patterns for my girls? If you're interested you can find them here and here.) Well, after all that designing, I felt sure Georgie knew what she was talking about. So, when Georgie said "try German short rows", I set out to try them.
Arbutus is full of short rows and I've read several comments about people getting unseemly holes with the wrap and turn method suggested. I thought I'd try Georgie's suggestion, found a couple of very good youtube videos (here and here) demonstrating German short rows, and had a go. FANTASTIC! But look, you can see for yourself ...
Pretty good huh! You can see where I've turned my knitting and knitted extra knit rows around the front loops in between the purl ridges - there's a sort of line running down the left side of the looped pieces. But no gigantic holes. It's very neat.
I've since used them on my Flowing Lines sweater, to shape the shoulder caps, and they're great for that too. Go on, try them!
In case you're wondering, my Arbutus is knitted in squidgy Mirasol Tuhu yarn, colourway number 2007, which I'm calling "Russian Fudge". It's 50% baby lama, 40% merino, 10% angora blend, hence the halo. Although a DK weight yarn, it's knitted on 5mm needles (US9) so the fabric has a ton of spring and drapes beautifully. It's great on ... you'll see soon :)
You can find my Russian Fudge Arbutus on Raverly here.
Well I'll be sure to check those out (although I don't have a prob with W&T) but I have to say, that cowl looks so squishy and beautiful I want to curl up in it! Can't wait to see more!!!! :D
ReplyDeleteNow that is the kind of cowl I could wear and I do have a nice little skein of squishy soft yarn somewhere that I could make it into. I love short rows but haven't tried those German ones. I did see a youtube tutorial once, will have to check out your links. Georgie is lovely isnt she, I just saw she released some new patterns too. ( I follow her IG feed ). Looking forward to the big reveal :-)
ReplyDeleteOh the fudge recipe looks delicious! I wish I could get Golden Syrup around here!! Lovely cowl as well!
ReplyDeleteFudge!!! That cowl is lovely, I have never heard of Russian short rows, but now I want to try. I learn so many new things from all my blogging friends.
ReplyDeleteLovely cowl! Love the stitch definition! Did you buy the book, Island, or just this pattern? I'm in love with the collection!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to receive the whole beautiful book from Jane :) I reviewed it earlier in February. It's fabulous!
DeleteNope....I've never even heard of Russian Fudge but the recipe sure sounds yummy. Haven't heard of German short rows either....what an educational day. Love the color of your cowl and I bet it's wonderfully soft in that blend.
ReplyDeleteYours is definitely one of the prettiest Arbutuses I've seen!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous cowl and thanks so much for the tip, I've definitely not cracked short rows properly yet so I'll give this method a try :)
ReplyDeleteYay for helpful commenters! I love Russian Fudge, I love making Russian fudge (dangerous) and am quite famous for it ;) And yes your cowl is exactly the shade of Russian fudge!
ReplyDeleteoooh, now I am hungry for fudge.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting looking cowl. Love the design.
How do you find all of these patterns with very interesting construction? I like it in the neutral color you chose rather than the more jewel-toned versions on the pattern page. Also, can you tell me what the difference is between Chelsea white sugar and (american?) white sugar?
ReplyDeleteLOVE your arbutus cowl! It's been in my queue for a while now and you just convinced me yet again yo Ho for it :)
ReplyDeleteI make a double lot of that fudge recipe each year for teacher's gifts as well. I like that I don't have to attempt to halve a tin of condensed milk that way, and there's some left for us too.
ReplyDeleteFudge is my son's favourite confection, especially Russian fudge. I had forgotten about German short rows. I must remember to try them again the next time I knit something with short rows. Your Arbutus looks gorgeous. Great in a neutral too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing both the cowl and fudge links!
ReplyDeleteI love how you named your cowl's colorway as it's so boring when the company just gives it a number. This looks so smooshy and warm. The short row construction is interesting and gives such a unique look.
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