Welcome to a new Lunar New Year, a new month, and to my finally-finished Tweedy Poncho! I so enjoyed this poncho project and look forward to wearing it, especially since it uses one of my favorite yarns – Rowan Felted Tweed. The poncho is from a pattern in Issue 141 of Inside Crochet magazine.
PHOTOS: Tweedy Poncho using Rowan Felted Tweed yarn in four colors. I made some slight adjustments to the fit. Colors used are: 177 Clay; 181 Mineral; 152 Watery; 183 Peony. Hook sizes used are 4.00 and 4.50mm.
The beginning was a little rough going, since I began by stitching in US, not UK terms (the pattern didn’t specify, but it is a UK publication, so…). Luckily I quickly realized my mistake and started again. For those interested in trying this pattern, I do recommend it, although I found three small mistakes, one of which was an incorrect stitch name in one row of the yoke. Another mistake indicated the incorrect color in a row. The mistakes are easy to spot if one skims the pattern in advance. The math/stitch count is fine, so I wasn’t slowed down too much.
The poncho has a generous turtleneck made with front-post stitches that create a rib effect; the colorwork is done with repeating shells, and the textured overlay is made in rows in between the rows of shells. The body of the poncho has rows of double crochet (UK = treble crochet), with every fourth row done in a crossover “X” pattern. The bottom has two rows of a simple front- and back-post ribbing, done with double (UK = treble) stitches.
PHOTOS: Random photos – yummy Berocco Remix yarn, and equally yummy donuts and rice cake soup to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. Saehae bok mani badeuseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요 ) is the standard way to say Happy New Year in Korean and translates as “Please receive a lot of luck on New Year’s Day.” Rice cake soup (떡국) is a central dish to serve on New Year’s Day. Photo credit by Maangchi – click here for the recipe!
Today is the start of the Lunar New Year, called Seollal in Korean. Seollal is a unique Korean tradition, influenced by China, and is based on the lunar cycle. Each year represents a different animal and the cycle is repeated every 12 years. The 12 animals are the following: mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The order of the animals is thought to have been based on the sequence in which they were invited to see Buddha. The tiger is this year’s animal, so we are seeing tigers everywhere!
Many businesses are closed today, and generally, this holiday is a family affair with some special traditions and foods. If you’re lucky, you might see some people (particularly children) wearing hanbok, which are traditional Korean garments (above). Rice cake soup (see photo) is one of my favorite dishes; it is a savory hot soup made with disk-shaped rice cakes and other ingredients such as meat and seaweed. The soup symbolizes new beginnings, and Koreans celebrate getting another year older.
So glad you stopped by! I’ll be heading to Seoul next week for a few days, and I’ll be sure to share my adventure.
Discover more from The Frill Seeker
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Frill Seeker 