There's a large snow-covered lump in my driveway that I assume is my car. Pulling back the curtains this morning in the bedroom, I was greeted by the kind of icicles you see in films - the huge long ones that look deadly yet beautiful. We are getting absolutely slammed by snow this weekend and day 3 of being alone with a 4-year-old and ancient pug while holed up inside is starting to make us all a little stir crazy. I love a good snow, but I'd probably love it more if my husband wasn't off in Florida at a work convention and I didn't know the snow shovel and I were going to be spending a lot of quality time together later.
Crafty folks handle the snow probably better than anyone else out there! We knit, we crochet, we sew, we edit photos, we dream up designs and sketch while cramming the next load of laundry in just in case we lose power. Snow gives us time to organize our stash, dream of that special skein in our LYS we've had our eyes on, comb through our Ravelry queue and maybe cast on that project we've been dying to start. Snow forces everyone to take a step back, accept that you're not leaving the house anytime soon, put the kettle on, grab your WIP and as we say in our house "snuggle down."
I had planned on introducing a new cowl pattern next week, but since the snow is well past my pug's head and the cars up and down the street look like huge white gumdrops, today seems like a good day. Knitters, meet the Popplewell Cowl! Inspired by argyle (without the argyle), this twisted cowl is only knits, purls, right and left twists. Knitting up on US 10s, this is a project that can easily be started and bound off by the time this storm makes its grand exit.
Bulky yarn means faster knitting and knit up in a solid (the lovely and gorgeous SweetGeorgia Superwash Six) version and a self striping (the very affordable and colorful Plymouth Yarns Gina Chunky) version, you get a completely different look by just changing up the yarn. The pattern is both written out and charted and a perfect time to try your hand at cabling without a cable needle. Each cable is only two stitches (these are called right and left twists), making it both manageable and ideal for tucking that cable needle back into your notions bag and giving it a go without! There's information in the pattern about how to do that if it's something you had on your "new year's knitting resolutions list."
Since there was no school on Thursday, or on Friday and today (day 3) we find ourselves buried with no end in sight, the Popplewell Cowl will be 30% off until midnight tomorrow. Enter the code SNOWDAY at Ravelry checkout to receive your discount!
Stay safe and warm, knitting friends!
Poppelwell Cowl available for download here.