Josleyn Cowl, one of my most popular (and personal favorite) patterns, was published two years ago this month. To celebrate the anniversary, I thought I'd share the story of her creation and offer a coupon code for my readers.
The yarn, Alpaca Silk by Blue Sky Alpacas, had been sitting in my stash for the longest time, just waiting for inspiration to strike. I would frequently pick it up and feel its luscious softness and admire the color that looked like liquid gold.
The yarn, Alpaca Silk by Blue Sky Alpacas, had been sitting in my stash for the longest time, just waiting for inspiration to strike. I would frequently pick it up and feel its luscious softness and admire the color that looked like liquid gold.
After much debating, I decided that this yarn would become a cowl. It was going to be my first winter in North Cardolina, and I wanted a snuggly cowl to keep my neck warm in the cold (and possibly snowy!) air.
I have an entire bookshelf of stitch dictionaries, but my most favorite is a Japanese stitch dictionary I bought in LA's Little Tokyo, called Knitting Patterns Book 250. I cannot read any Japanese, but luckily for me every stitch pattern is charted very clearly. I came across a stitch pattern that contained everything I love about knitting: cables, lace, and garter stitch. I had never seen any other stitch pattern like it, and knew that it would be perfect for my cowl.
The process for charting this pattern was a lengthy one. While the Japanese chart was very clear, some of the symbols used were much different than what I was accustomed to. I began to draw the long chart by hand. Usually that isn't a problem, but this one was 48 rows long, and needed two pieces of graph paper.
I began knitting my cowl at my weekly knit night, and was asked all sorts of questions about it. The usual: What pattern are you using? What do you mean you designed it yourself? How can you read a Japanese knitting book? Etc, etc. I think the other knitters were amused to watch me work off this long and narrow chart that looked like a ticker tape on my lap. The next week I had made substantial progress, so I happily passed around my project to show off the lovely stitch pattern.
I have an entire bookshelf of stitch dictionaries, but my most favorite is a Japanese stitch dictionary I bought in LA's Little Tokyo, called Knitting Patterns Book 250. I cannot read any Japanese, but luckily for me every stitch pattern is charted very clearly. I came across a stitch pattern that contained everything I love about knitting: cables, lace, and garter stitch. I had never seen any other stitch pattern like it, and knew that it would be perfect for my cowl.
The process for charting this pattern was a lengthy one. While the Japanese chart was very clear, some of the symbols used were much different than what I was accustomed to. I began to draw the long chart by hand. Usually that isn't a problem, but this one was 48 rows long, and needed two pieces of graph paper.
I began knitting my cowl at my weekly knit night, and was asked all sorts of questions about it. The usual: What pattern are you using? What do you mean you designed it yourself? How can you read a Japanese knitting book? Etc, etc. I think the other knitters were amused to watch me work off this long and narrow chart that looked like a ticker tape on my lap. The next week I had made substantial progress, so I happily passed around my project to show off the lovely stitch pattern.
Joselyn was an instant success for me, and it didn't take long before all sorts of beautiful projects started to show up on Ravelry. If you like to knit gifts, I think this cowl would be my number one choice for 3 reasons:
To celebrate her anniverary (or birthday?) I'm offering a 25% discount on the Joselyn Cowl until October 31st when you use coupon code anniversary during checkout.
- The knitting isn't terribly difficult, as long as you can handle reading a chart.
- The stitch pattern looks quite impressive, especially to non-knitters.
- It doesn't take up much time or yarn, so you will be able to make a few for your most favorite people.
To celebrate her anniverary (or birthday?) I'm offering a 25% discount on the Joselyn Cowl until October 31st when you use coupon code anniversary during checkout.
RSS Feed
