Hand Spun Sampler Cowl
In February I wrote a post about Samples & Swatches. Today's project works perfectly for using small samples of stash fibers acquired from "Box of the Month" clubs and other sundry places. Each of these little amounts of fiber were less than 1 ounce; most less than 0.5 ounce.
My friend Rosemary, who you met a few posts ago, gifted me a knitting pattern called the 'Land of Sweets Cowl' by Helen Stewart. I love how Helen introduced her pattern:
"For devoted knitters, yarn is sweeter than candy, and it's just as difficult to restrain ourselves when faced with a world of choice. Who hasn't stood in a yarn shop staring at piles of skeins in every colour of the rainbow, eyes shining, like a child in a sweet shop?"
If you are a fiber artist, or really any kind of creator, aren't we all like kids in a candy shop when we encounter our fibers or paints or fabrics or flowers or whatever?
Helen designed her pattern to mimic the dazzling array of colors in a sweets shop. Her version used 24 mini skeins from a yarn Advent calendar. But of course, it’s also a wonderful way to use up the delicious leftovers that every fiber artist has stashed away.
So after raiding my stash (such fun!), I set about spinning all my little yarn candies. There was . . .
a sparkly white and green yarn spun from merino wool and glittery stellina . . .
a luscious lichen green of merino and silk . . .
a heavenly cloud of white merino and tussah silk . . .
a sultry Romeldale/CVM wool blend plied with some of the glittery merino . . .
a truly sweet little yarn spun from aptly named Penny Sweets Candy (merino, silk, baby llama) and a buttery fluff of cheviot wool . . .
a little yarn ball called 'Garden Frenzy' spun from plant-dyed bright pink, yellow, and green fibers of blended wool, romney locks and silk sliver . . . .
a springy merino wool in pastel purple, mint, blue, pink, yellow, and coral . . .
a perky pink merino . . .
and finally an enchanted skein named 'Fairy Salad' that I wrote about here and here. This is one of my first and favorite handspun yarns that has been saved for just the right project. Because of its variety of colors and textures, I was able to include it multiple times in the cowl and yet the stripes display as if from different skeins.
My spinning goal was for fingering weight yarns. I used roughly 580 yards to knit the cowl for a finished circumference of 24 inches and a length of 24 inches.
This was a fun project, both to spin and knit. The smaller amounts and variety of colors kept my interest going and it was a great project to pick up when I had little snippets of time.
Links:
Book Update
Krokbagd: How to Design & Weave
I'm currently weaving project samples on both my table and floor looms. I'm on track for an anticipated Fall 2018 release. Stay tuned!
