Afghan Stitch Knitting

The last few weeks I have been working on a new cowl using the Scrap-Yarn Afghan Stitch Barbara G Walker has in her knitting book, "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns".  Below is the stitch pattern. I don't do ssk but prefer to knit 2 together through back loop (k2tog tbl).

Multiple of 12 + 3 Colours A & B.

Cast on with Color A and k one row.

Row 1 (RS): With Color B, k1, ssk, *k9, slip 2, k1, p2sso; rep from *, end k9, k2tog, k1
Row 2: With Color B, p1, k1, *p1, k4, (k1, yo, k1) in next st, k4; rep from *, end p1, k1
Rows 3 and 4: With Color A, Rep Rows 1 and 2 

You just need to carry the yarns up as you knit.  There are many great tutorials on YouTube for this.

As you can see below I'm having fun mixing colours right now!

It is a lovely stitch that could also be used to knit a scarf although the wrong side is not as neat as the right side.  The number of stitches needed totally depends on the yarn you'll be using and how wide you want your scarf or cowl to be.  Knitting a few rows to see how it looks will be the best thing to do.

It's Easy Being Vegan and Sometimes It's Not

Go on any forum and you'll often find someone asking about how to be a vegan.  Some people will say it's easy and others will say they tried but found it too hard.  Some days I find it easy  and more of a hassle on other days.

If you look at the photo below; these are some of my favorite vegan products.  Missing from the photo are Daiya and Gardein products.  Just to be able to find these products I need to go to 4 different stores and 2 different online stores.  I just wish I could walk into one grocery store and buy all my stuff like most people.  Yes, I know I don't need to eat any of these products to be vegan but I love them!

Some of my favorite vegan products.

Also, companies that used to be cruelty-free are being bought by big corporations that do animal testing.  It can be discouraging at times, although never enough to stop being vegan.

And then there are days when I look at some yarns and wish I could find those colorways in non-animal fibers.  At times like this I remind myself why I became a vegan; animals are not here for my personal use. They are not here to feed me, clothe me, entertain me or test my products.