Year of the Badass Cowl
OK everyone! We've hinted at it a bit before now, but here on the eve of the New Year (and New Decade!!), I'm happy to announce our theme for 2020 - Year of the Badass Cowl!!
What does this mean?
Well - both Neuro and I have had all kinds of ideas swirling around in our heads since we landed on this theme just a few days ago. We're both rummaging through our stashes and already imagining all the possibilities. I don't think we have any hard and fast rules (at least just yet), although we did want to include some of our own designs (which, for me, means that I actually need to come up with some of my own designs, LOL!!).
I think a soft rule might be that each cowl needs to have something badass about it - so that, when the intended recipient is wearing it, they feel like they can conquer most any adversary they encounter; for example, they fly out the door with their head held high, walk into meetings with a slight swagger, or impress the other coffee shop customers with their flair. Of course, badass is subjective and relative - what might be badass for my mom might not work for the recipient of the Cold As mitts!
I won't bore you with all of my current musings, but I did want to show you two proto-cowls (aka piles of yarn that will somehow become cowls):
This is a small collection of handspun semi-exotic fibers. From left to right, they are: (alpaca/tussah silk, 50/50 cashgora/wool, cashgora (local!), yak down, and merino top). They are all the 2-ply light fingering weight I like to spin, and since they're exotics I'll knit them as is (not doubled). I've been holding on to the alpaca/silk for a long time now - it is one of the most beautiful combos I've ever seen. Right now I'm thinking large sections for each color, with some textured stitch patterns for the lighter colors and maybe some lace-ish for the darks?
These are also handspun, 2-ply light fingering weight (ish), and together their colors closely resemble those of my Crazed Scandinavian (with the heart-stomping squatches!). The purple was originally a light color that I then dyed with something probably called Lilac or similar after I spun it; the other is Apricot Merino Top from Woodland Woodworks. They immediately say "two-color brioche" to me, but that's as far as they've gone.
Work continues on the Warmup Cowl:
(The color pooling is way less dramatic in person. That little white spot is the sheepey stitch marker that announces the beginning of each row!)
Winter will return here for the next couple of days (we just had a bit of graupel, from the sounds of it!), so perhaps there will be more signs of wildlife action for me to report! Otherwise, all I have for you from that realm is a large hawk that flew across my path as I was driving to an interview yesterday (if all goes well, I may have more to say about that here - stay tuned!).
Happy New Year to all!!!
What does this mean?
Well - both Neuro and I have had all kinds of ideas swirling around in our heads since we landed on this theme just a few days ago. We're both rummaging through our stashes and already imagining all the possibilities. I don't think we have any hard and fast rules (at least just yet), although we did want to include some of our own designs (which, for me, means that I actually need to come up with some of my own designs, LOL!!).
I think a soft rule might be that each cowl needs to have something badass about it - so that, when the intended recipient is wearing it, they feel like they can conquer most any adversary they encounter; for example, they fly out the door with their head held high, walk into meetings with a slight swagger, or impress the other coffee shop customers with their flair. Of course, badass is subjective and relative - what might be badass for my mom might not work for the recipient of the Cold As mitts!
I won't bore you with all of my current musings, but I did want to show you two proto-cowls (aka piles of yarn that will somehow become cowls):
This is a small collection of handspun semi-exotic fibers. From left to right, they are: (alpaca/tussah silk, 50/50 cashgora/wool, cashgora (local!), yak down, and merino top). They are all the 2-ply light fingering weight I like to spin, and since they're exotics I'll knit them as is (not doubled). I've been holding on to the alpaca/silk for a long time now - it is one of the most beautiful combos I've ever seen. Right now I'm thinking large sections for each color, with some textured stitch patterns for the lighter colors and maybe some lace-ish for the darks?
These are also handspun, 2-ply light fingering weight (ish), and together their colors closely resemble those of my Crazed Scandinavian (with the heart-stomping squatches!). The purple was originally a light color that I then dyed with something probably called Lilac or similar after I spun it; the other is Apricot Merino Top from Woodland Woodworks. They immediately say "two-color brioche" to me, but that's as far as they've gone.
Work continues on the Warmup Cowl:
(The color pooling is way less dramatic in person. That little white spot is the sheepey stitch marker that announces the beginning of each row!)
Winter will return here for the next couple of days (we just had a bit of graupel, from the sounds of it!), so perhaps there will be more signs of wildlife action for me to report! Otherwise, all I have for you from that realm is a large hawk that flew across my path as I was driving to an interview yesterday (if all goes well, I may have more to say about that here - stay tuned!).
Happy New Year to all!!!
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