The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is almost upon us! I look forward to this delightful fiber festival every year, as does my whole family. There's sheep, sheep dog trials, any type of fiber you can imagine, yarn companies, indie dyers, knitting friends, festival food, root beer, brooms (yes, handmade brooms), plants, trinkets, notions, people spinning, people knitting, people shearing animals... I get excited just thinking about it! Wear your sunscreen and pack your water, and of course - BYOK.
If you get a chance, stop by the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth and take a gander at my latest design, the Chez Moi Cowl. "Another cowl," you say? Well yes, because I think cowls make the perfect gift since everyone has a neck and you don't have to worry about fit, and to a certain extent, gauge. They're the best on-the-go project and don't require tons of yarn.
Knitting up on US 4 circular knitting needles, this cowl is started with a provisional cast on, then at the halfway point the colors are reversed. It knits up tall and is then folded over with right sides facing out and the live ends kitchenered together creating a seamless, completely reversible cowl with an unparelled squish factor.
Since Fair Isle naturally makes a double-thick fabric, this cowl will be 4 layers thick of amazingly soft loveliness when folded over. Knit in Spirit Trail's Sunna yarn, a superwash merino, cashmere, and silk blend, I love the tone on tone colors and the inviting house motif. Inspired by my son as a little boy always asking me "to leave the light on," this is for anyone who knows that home is where the heart is.
I'll be roaming around Sheep & Wool with my family, hoping to come home with some fiber and memories of good conversations with friends. Hope to see you there. xoxo
Download the Chez Moi Cowl here.