Projects
Honey Cowl: I Can’t Quit You
Yesterday I washed and blocked a new Honey Cowl. MadTosh Sport, 300 stitches, in a color called Whisker that really is reminiscent of a 5 o’clock shadow. (Do people still say “5 o’clock shadow” in this bearded age? Is it still a thing? As one gets older, does this kind of uncertainty plague one’s entire vocabulary?)
Today I cast on another Honey Cowl. MadTosh DK, 260 stitches, in a steely pale blue whose label I tossed too quickly.
My notebook records that I cast on my fifth Honey Cowl in February 2012. I have not kept track as the numbers mounted. Doing some rough projections, I think I’ve knit at least 30 of them.
I know it looks like a failure of imagination, knitting so many repeats of the same pattern, but hear me out.
The Honey Cowl is perfect for subway knitting, which I do a lot of. I can even knit a Honey Cowl in the movies, although sometimes I have to wait for a brightly lit scene to check where I am in the slip one, purl one sequence. So there’s ease of knitting.
The finished object is a wonderful accessory. It’s chic and warm when double-looped around the neck, and it drapes beautifully when you let it hang down. It’s practical, because it won’t slip off your neck when you un-double it when you go into a warm shop or packed train. People not only act delighted to receive one, but I see them wearing them often. So. I keep knitting them. Although I always have other projects on the go, rarely are they as supremely portable or giftable as the Honey Cowl.
I too have knit dozens of them…. seriously given a honey cowl to every one i love.
Casting one on this very weekend. Quintessential ‘mindless’ knit.
I have the whiskers color in laceweight and right now I’m knitting my third honey cowl in Mad Tosh Lepidoptra…don’t ask me what that means. It is a pretty red-rose-purple color and it is meant to go around my neck. Because I’m being selfish like that.
I doesn’t matter how many you knit as long as you and those who receive it truly enjoy it. Keep cowling.
Where does one get the pattern?
Check Ravelry. It’s Honey Cowl by Madeline Tosh, a free download.
How do I order this pattern?