A Simple Cowl… on the needles

Back in October, I attended a Yarn and Yoga event weekend at A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm, where I was introduced to the greatest little shrug.

Marty (one of the farmers at A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm) has a great go-to pattern that she, and many other knitters, have used to create a shrug… It's worked from the bottom up by alternating a few knit rounds worked in a *base* yarn, with a few purl rounds worked in a *fun* yarn, and shaped with some decreases. But you know me… I can never follow something exactly. So, I've taken the idea of the shrug, and am running with it…

I'm not exactly sure where it will go. But, it's started as a cowl. I'm beginning from the top, and will work down. My neck has been chilly a lot lately, and I've realized I don't own many neck-warming devices. I have one scarf that I received from an International Scarf Exchange that I participated in years ago (see the June 4th post)…

My cowl will be long enough that I can pull it up over my nose if I want. And when it's not pulled up, the extra fabric will warm my neck nicely. At least, that's the idea

My *base* yarn is some grey, hand-spun alpaca that I spun up last year, once I figured out how to use my spinning wheel.

The base yarn will be visible from the inside of the cowl. My hand-spun yarn is soft and warm, and I think it'll feel great next to my skin.

My *fun* yarn is created from tying together all those little ends of yarn that are left over after weaving in ends. I began saving these ends years ago.

All those knots will remain as shown here. I love the wabi-sabi nature of them… Some strands are longer than others, so there are clusters of knots, then long sections without them.

This side is what will be visible to everyone.

I have visions of making a bunch of separate pieces… a cowl, a shrug, arm-warmers, leg-warmers and then if I get even more ambitious: a skirt… but I may be thinking too far ahead. 

If you live near Sumner Maine, on January 13th A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm is hosting a "Simple Shrug Sunday" for $20.They'll even serve you a home-made lunch, and a bit of yoga throughout the day!