Celtic Cables and Coffee

     How do Celtic cables and coffee go together do you ask?  I'll show you. 

I give you my first project of Round 2.  I made this for the Sheep in History challenge.  Here are the challenge details:

Ever since somebody first looked at a sheep and said, “Why is that sheep warm and I’m not?” humans have been fascinated by fiber and what they can do with it. Your challenge is to make something that consciously reflects, replicates, and/or adapts a historical technique or pattern from a Rav-sanctioned craft, providing visual documentation* of your inspiration. (For the purposes of this challenge, “history” is anything that happened at least fifty years ago, and “fiber” is anything that can be spun, woven, knit or crocheted. We’re easy.)

I drew my inspiration from traditional Aran Sweaters.  The lore surrounding these sweaters is pretty nifty, in my book.  According to Wikipedia most of the lore is unsubstantiated but I like it just the same.  Aran sweaters come from the Aran Island off the West coast of Ireland.  They are also known as Ganseys.  The lore I speak of is that these sweaters were used to identify the fisherman who wore them in case they drown and washed up on shore several weeks later.  It is true that each clan had a unique cable design on the sweater and that these designs were passed down through the families, generation after generation.  I used just one cable motif for the coffee cozy, a motif that was/is commonly found on these Ganseys.  I really enjoy learning new cable patterns.  I find it less daunting to practice them on small items such a coffee cozies.  I brought this one to work with me today.  One of "the boys" (the guys I used to work with on weekends) keeps taking my other coffee cozy for himself, as a joke.  So, I decided that two can play this game and just put this new one on my mug.  I'm sure this one will be moved too, I'll just keep making more 'til he runs out of mugs ;)
Here is the link to my actual submission post:  Cabled Coffee Cozy

     I have finished another challenge project but I have yet to weave in the ends and take pictures.  I made the Scalloped Brioche Dishcloth.  It is a modified double brioche pattern.  It looks much like snake skin or fish scales, I'll be using it for the Hide and Seek challenge.  I didn't care for the pattern, I made many, many mistakes.  To the author's credit she did suggest starting with something easier if one had not forayed into brioche stitch before, which I haven't.  I'll try something easier and then try it again sometime.  Despite the mistakes, I still got the look I was going for.  The yarn pooled for me which really helps the cloth look more like an animal.  I have ideas for almost all the other challenges, including our Team Unity.  I'm just really stumped on the music challenge.  I guess I just need to spend sometime listening to some nerdy music, perhaps then I'll be inspired. 

     Team Unity this round is to craft something for or in homage to our favorite "baddie" or their home world.  At this point I'm thinking of going with the Unas both Goa'uld infested and natural Unas, since there is a pretty big difference.  Its probably going to be a bit of a stretch but I'm hoping if I explain the crap out of the metaphor I plan to use, it'll fly.

     I've gotten another dishcloth order from a co-worker.  I think I'm just below 20 now for dishcloth requests.  That's not including the non-dishcloth requests as well.  I'm working on one such now as I figured out how I could use it for Nerd Wars.  I'm making another Out of the Frying Pan.  I'm reversing the color scheme this time, I may omit the stripe all together depending on how much yarn I have.  Alright that's it for this time.  Happy Crafting!
-Q
As always links to the patterns:
Cabled Mug Cozy
Scalloped Brioche Dishcloth
Out of the Frying Pan