State Street Cowl glamour shot + Elsewhere

by

state street cowl quince and company puffin

Getting back to knitwear on fully clothed people, here’s how my State Street Cowl turned out — sorry it’s taken me so long to get it photographed. I’ve literally worn it every day since I blocked it; it’s a cold studio dweller’s best friend. You may recall I made mine more voluminous than the pattern called for, with additional repeats in both directions, and as a result it’s the cowl I’ve been longing for. The heft, the drape, the texture — it’s a dream. This is Quince and Co’s Puffin wool in Frank’s Plum, which is a more subdued and moody plum than the photo suggests.

A bunch of people have told me (here, in Ravmail, in 3D) they were casting on for this and I’d still and always love to see your FOs. The original knitalong thread is right here. And there are a couple more pics of mine on Ravelry, if you’re interested.

.

In other news, a few Elsewheres:

— Interesting: Pam Peterson uncovers the surprisingly brief history of the iconic Icelandic sweater.

— Cute: A free easy seamed cowl pattern at Design Sponge, from Danielle Henderson. (See also their great interview with her.)

— Drool-inducing: Also part of Design Sponge’s knitting series, studio tour and profile of Jared Flood and Brooklyn Tweed.

— Fascinating: The back story and whereabouts of Sally Fox and her naturally colored cotton plants. (I had some Foxfibre towels in the ’90s but never knew this much about it all. Now I want to know even more.)

— New: Blue Sky Alpacas’ three Roaring ’20s-inspired wraps (knit and crochet); Quince and Co’s first crochet collection, by Rebecca Velasquez (of Haiku fame); Kelbourne Woolens’ eleven most popular designs from their first five years in business.

.

Thanks to Leigh for snapping the cowl pic for me.

18 thoughts on “State Street Cowl glamour shot + Elsewhere”

  2. What a beauty … I would wear your cowl everyday, too! Thanks for the link to the roaring 20’s inspired knits. I love them all!

  3. I want to move into that cowl and live forever.

    (Thank you for these links, they’re helpful and inspiring. The Jared Flood/Design*Sponge interview is fantastic. I love Brooklyn Tweed)

  7. Whoo hoo! Looks great! I apologize if you’ve discussed this on the blog before but I’m wondering, how do you block your knits? I am knitting a hat with the Quince puffin yarn and am thinking I should probably block it when I’m done.

    Also, D*S is really bringing it with the knitting goodness, Jared Flood’s studio = swoon!

    • Nothing special. I put barely lukewarm water in a basin with some rinseless wool soak (like Eucalan or Soak), and swish my hand around in there to make sure it’s all dissolved. Then I drop in the knit and squeeze it gently to get the water into the fibers and the air out, so it doesn’t float too much. Let it sit for 20 or 30 minutes. You don’t ever want to lift a soaking wet piece of knitting, so I tip the basin over, holding the knit against the opposite side, and let the water run out. Gently squeeze out as much of the remaining water as possible. Then lay it out on a dry towel (or two, if it’s big like a sweater), roll the towel up, put it on the floor, and step all over it so as much water as possible gets transferred to the towels. (Some people apparently use a salad spinner for this part!) Then lay it out on a dry towel and shape it all perfectly so it dries in the desired shape and size. Then wait for it to dry.

      Pointing a fan at it can really speed up the drying process a lot. But the Puffin dried pretty quickly.

  9. Pingback: Happy Friday! So much to tell you … | Fringe Association

  10. Pingback: State Street plus « Quince & Co.

  11. Pingback: 2013: My knitting year in review | Fringe Association

  12. I’m making this and doing 5 pattern repeats instead of 4 as well. Just wondering when you switched to the larger needles? Same as in pattern – after 2nd repeat – or later?

  13. Pingback: Knitting: Lessons learned – State Street Cowl – Kim's creative corner

  14. Pingback: Knitting: Lessons learned – State Street Cowl

Comments are closed.