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Mary Jane Mucklestone

Hand Knitting Blog & Knitting Patterns

winter accessories

Cushing Cowl

February 20, 2020 by Mary Jane 1 Comment

I love a cowl. Cozy and warm! And they won’t blow off or strangle you in the wind, but rather stay put and do their job.

Say hello to Cushing Cowl, inspired by the diagonal knitting of Maine fiber artist Katharine Cobey. I was scheduled to teach my Contemporary Stranded Knitting class at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland Maine, who are having an exhibit of Katharine’s work. Wanting to add a little of her influence, I got to wondering how to apply her ideas about diagonals to stranded colorwork. I went a bit wild in the process, making zigzags, arrows, chevrons and diamonds that all stemmed from one little pattern repeat.

I began by playing around with diagonal lines, and settled on a 6 stitch x 6 row, diagonal pattern – 3 stitches of each color marching to the left. I flipped the motif horizontally to see what would happen. I discovered that if I added another column of stitches, I could make an arrow shape (above right) I’ve outlined the original 6×6 pattern in red so you can see. Next I flipped that whole new bit down, and added a row to make a diamond shape! That’s how it starts. The possibilities are endless!

I wanted a graphic look for my cowl, so I dove into my stash and came out with two skeins of local Maine based, Quince & Co. Lark, worsted weight yarn in Pea Coat, a nice dark navy for the Main Color. I wanted to pair it with an off-white. I didn’t have a full skein of anything, but found a couple of partial white balls, Audouin, sort of an oatmeal color, and a little ball of Egret, a bright white.

Necessity is the mother of invention, I used them both! Plus, I think having the two slightly different whites are what really make these solid colors work so nicely. The effect is very subtle, but so much more lively than if I had just used one contrast color.

MJM iat the town landing in Falmouth Maine, wearing Cushing Cowl and Dash Happy Hat

I’ve been wearing my version ever since! Here I’m at the end of the dock in Falmouth Maine, at the town landing.

Olivia, my wonderful intern for the last few weeks, willingly took on making a second sample. She choose Lark in River, a medium blue color and a wonderful variegated yellow called Salty Dog, in Dream State, by Spincycle Yarns out of Bellingham, Washington.

We were both delighted with the resulting cowl, the colorplay of the Spincycle yarn is effortlessly beautiful! Olivia herself is extra extra, agreeing with only a tiny hesitation to being my supermodel at the drop of a hat, twice!

I can not thank her enough, she’s the best!

Estimated Worsted Weight Yarn Amounts

  • Version 1 MC 165yd [150m],  CC1 60yd [55m],  CC2 30yd [28m]
  • Version 2 MC 165yd [150m],  CC  90yd [83m]

Cushing Cowl

20% off with code: 2020

through midnight

Sunday February 21, 2020

on Ravelry

My thanks to you!

Further Reading: Diagonal Knitting: A Different Slant, by Katharine Cobey


I LOVE seeing your MJM WIPs and FOs! Please tag me so I don’t miss them! @mjmucklestone #maryjanemucklestone

Filed Under: Knitting Tagged With: Classes, color, colorwork, colour, colourwork, cowl, design, handknitting, inspiration, knitting pattern, Maine, quick knit, quince&co, ravelry, spincycle yarn, stranded knitting, winter accessories, wool, yarn

What’s New!

December 13, 2018 by Mary Jane Leave a Comment

Whew! What a wild year it’s been! I’m going to tell some of my stories in the new year, so stay tuned.

In the meantime I’ve got a couple of fun things to announce. My Sunflower Mittens are now out as an individual pattern. They were originally designed as part of Beatrice Peron Dahlen’s gorgeous book Maine Knits. The idea for the flower shape was inspired in part by a border element in a large cross-stitch panel that my Norwegian Great Grandmother stitched. It’s the only piece we have of hers.                                                       

Find the Sunflower Mittens pattern on Ravelry. I have to make myself a new pair since I lost the sample. I’m going to make the new ones with red flowers. 

Sunflower Mittens Details:

Yarn Nash Island Light (100% Maine island Wool;175 yds / 160 m per 100g)                                                                                                          1 skein in Driftwood or 160 yds / 146 m in MC                                         1 skein in Finch or 28 yds / 25.5 m in CC of worsted weight yarn                                                                                                                                      Starcroft Fiber Mill just got some new Nash Island Light Yarn! Better be quick! it goes fast!

Needles
US 7/4.5 mm DPNs , US 5/3.75mm DPNs; or size to obtain gauge

Gauge 
11 sts and 11 rnds to 2″ / 5 cm in colorwork pattern on larger needles, after blocking

Besides her gorgeous knitwear designs and book, you might remember Beatrice for her  insightful post on the true cost of what goes into the making of a knitting pattern, an important read.  She has a new podcast that you should definitely check out.

You may know Franklin Habit‘s  friend Dolores Van Hoofen. I was lucky to host her for a wee visit this fall. I made her a sporty toboggan hat for her winter pursuits. I’ve heard Dolores is a little on the wild side, but she was demure and a calm during her time at my house, but oh my, she went wild later when she hit the slopes! 

The hat, paired with a jaunty striped scarf is available as the Dolores #5 Huggy Hygge Winter Accessories Kit at Webs. You can get the pattern for your own Dolores at the same place!

Squam –  11 – 15 September 2019 

I’m teaching at Squam Arts Workshops again, this time in the Fall. Oh boy is it going to be gorgeous! I might go early and do a little hiking in the area. The picture on the left is from the top of the nearby hill, overlooking Squam Lake, and on the right is the cabin I stayed in.

I’ll be teaching a Squam-ishious version of my Multiplicity class, this time we’ll make darling tiny fair isle socks. I think the fall is a time for looking inward and preparing for winter, and a relaxing weekend in the hills of New Hampshire is just the thing to settle into the season. Plus, there are new friends to be made and new things to learn! These little socks might be fun to keep experimenting with and and maybe collect as ornaments.

For more details visit Squam Arts Retreats.

Hope to see you there!

Consult my classes pages to see what I’m up to in 2019. I’ll be adding new dates as soon as I’m allowed to announce!                                   

Filed Under: Events, Patterns Tagged With: artisinal, color, colorwork, colour, fiber, fibre, Franklin Habit, handmade, knit, knitting, knitting pattern, Mary Jane Mucklestone, ravelry, Sunflower Mittens, winter accessories, wool, workshop, yarn

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