The Shenandoah Fiber Festival is coming up soon here in northern Virginia from September 28th-30th. I look forward to this wonderful festival every year both from a professional point of view and a personal one. The business side of me enjoys finding new yarns and companies to work with that are local, scoping out the latest yarn I’ve been stalking on instagram, talking shop with companies and other designers, and being there as a professional knitwear designer, seeing many of my designs borrowed by companies and hanging up in booths. The other part of me looks forward to angora bunnies that I need to pet, apple cobbler to wolf down (seriously, what is in it that makes it so GOOD?!), seeing old friends, taking my kids and husband to roam around looking at yarn and animals as an anonymous fiber fan, looking for gifts, and enjoying the festive atmosphere. The festival gets bigger and better each year and it’s worth the trip.
At this very festival last year, I finally got to meet Aimee from Little Fox. I had been an admirer of her yarn - particularly her color palette - and was delighted to pick up some of her fibers to play with. Aimee is a local dyer and interior designer with a talent to make all her colors magically go well together. I am delighted to introduce one of two new patterns I’ll be releasing this season in her yarn.
Meet the Talas Cowl, a cabled, lacy, feather and fan delight. “Talas” means “wave” in Bosnian (we have a family friend who is Bosnian), a motif evident in the feather and fan portions of this generous cowl. Using tonal pinks in petal and pixie dust (how great are those color names?) on US 5 and 7 circular needles, this cowl combines two techniques I love to see together - lace and cables. The juxtaposition of cables - a clumping of stitches building a section up - with lace - a pulling apart of stitches leaving negative space - is something I don’t see often but is quite lovely.
I like my lacy cowls to have heft to them and this cowl is nice and tall at 25” high x 34” circumference when blocked. Add another rep in a third color, or just do one if you prefer something shorter. Little Fox’s Mere, a 100% superwash fiber, creates excellent stitch definition with perfect bounce. I will definitely use this yarn again! Lacy cowls are good for year-round wear, whether you’re combating an over-zealous air conditioner, or the winter chill. Cowls are harder to lose than shawls, and as I mentioned in my last post, excellent gifts.
Download the Talas Cowl here and be sure to check out the Shanendoah Fiber Festival! If you see me there, please say hello!