Raindance Cowl with Glass Beads

I purchased this yarn as part of a kit from my local yarn shop, Yarned & Dangerous. The kit included yarn and glass beads along with a pattern for a cowl.  I had an all together different pattern in mind that I wanted to make with the kit.  It turned out that I did not have enough beads for the pattern I had in mind, but I did find another pattern what I loved.

This is a cowl pattern called "Raindance". The pattern link is HERE.  It is a FREE pattern. The yarn is used is called BellaTrista Soy DK. In cased you missed it... that's yarn made out of SOY. How cool is that?  The beads are Miyuki glass beads from The Knitting Zone.  This was a relatively quick project.  I am enjoying making up some "one skein wonder" projects lately.  I love the sense of accomplishment I get from starting and finishing something relatively quickly.

The cowl is a nice size and has a nice drape to it I think. I noticed my stitches seemed a bit wonky here and there so I decided to wet block my cowl.  I soaked the cowl in some tepid water and a few drops of Eucalan.  The cowl seemed to grow considerably larger after soaking.  The soy yarn soaked up a lot of water and took a really long time to dry.  I could not help but notice that the yarn had quite an Earthy odor while damp.  I kept thinking it smelled a little like a barnyard. I took my cowl to the knit shop to show the gals. We all sort of joked about the odor; one lady was adamant it smelled "just like Illinois". So there you have it!  Damp soy yarn smells just like Illinois.  Now that the cowl has dried, I am not noticing the odor at all.

I've heard soy helps with symptoms of PMS and perimenopause.  Do you think if I wear my cowl it will help with my symptoms?  Just kidding.

Happy Knitting!