Through Thick and Thin Cowl

Through Thick and Thin Cowl
by Rachel Simmons (that's me)

Available on Ravelry for $2.50

Shown in
Knit Collage Spun Cloud in "Creme Brulee"
Knit Collage Cast Away in "Peachy Sparkle"

​Skills Needed: Knitting in the round, elongated knit stitch, color change, ribbing

I received my last YarnBox Luxe in September and it contained the beautiful thick and thin handspun yarn from Knit Collage.  How perfect, right?  I am currently obsessed with spinning and my last box of surprise luxury yarn is handspun!  It made me smile in a way that only yarn can.  Oh, squishy goodness, how I love you.  

With this beautiful new yarn and some size US 15 needles, I got right to work making something.  It was a great pleasure that I was designing what I was making, too.  It is an ambition of mine to get serious about designing knitwear.  I have all of these ideas bouncing around in my head and I know I can do it.  (Whether anyone likes it is another issue, but I'm going to tackle one thing at a time here.)  I started dabbling with design before my first son was born- but then loud, obnoxious screeching breaks were put on that I'm just starting to realize were a little (not completely, let's be fair) self-imposed.  Granted, two toddlers do not leave a lot of time for anybody or anything else, but there are plenty of people with limited time that chase dreams.  And part of this whole thing is because I love fiber and part of this is because I want to build a little something for myself that is not necessarily connected with me being a mother.  I love being a stay-at-home mom, I feel lucky in many respects, but it is not a career.  Eventually my children will grow up and start their own journeys away from the nest following their own interests.  I want to start building something now that will sustain me and give me satisfaction and purpose beyond rearing children.  

And I love fiber.     

Lately, I've kicked my little butt in gear and I'm excited to start sharing with you some of what I've been doing.  Like really excited.  I have a lot that I'm working on to fulfill this ambition of mine and I'm loving it.  I have to remind myself it is a slow simmer, and that's okay, as long as I'm still moving forward.

This was a nice confidence building project.  It knit up quickly, it was funky, chunky and fun.  I was able to write up the pattern, take some pictures (with the help of my littlest...perhaps I should invest in a tripod.  I could put my tiny helper in charge of some other aspect of my project, one that is a little less dropable) and put together a completely finished product that I was proud of without feeling overwhelmed, drained, or defeated.  All good things.  I especially like the name of the cowl: "Through Thick and Thin."  Yes, it's supposed to be punny, but it is also a good description of my relationship with fiber crafts.  They get me through a lot.  And now that this is done, I'm looking at my swatches and beginnings of other designs and a little voice in my head is saying; "You can do this," with a little more confidence.  I've begun submitting ideas, too.  I know there is a lot of rejection ahead of me.  I can handle rejection, I just can't handle defeat.  And for the past couple of years, I have been defeating myself just a bit.  That's no example to set for my children.   

So, tally-ho!  Off I go.  Chasing a dream, trying to build something and excited to see where it goes.

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