How I love this simple cowl by Kim Hargreaves! It doubles as a snood, and its name is Covet. I knitted it in the kidsilk aura I bought when I thought I had lost my two shawls. This is a wonderful, simple pattern and the piece can be worn in a variety of ways. The bright pink is perfect for spring! You can find Covet in Kim Hargreaves' book, Enchanted, which is here:
http://www.kimhargreaves.co.uk/acatalog/Enchanted_Book.html
Perhaps this looks familiar to you? I knitted this design before, right when the book first came out. It fits perfectly and the drape over the shoulders is so elegant when you wear it as a cowl. Perfect for any spring dress when going out to dinner. And when it gets colder, draw it over your head. "Why make it again?" you are probably wondering. Well, one of my goals when I started the 100 day challenge of wearing my hand knits was to keep track of which knits I wore the most. It seemed to me that if I wore certain knits far more than others, this would determine which garment types or qualities were the most practical and valuable for me to make more of in future. Guess what was my #1 hands-down winner?
Yes, over a hundred day period I wore this snood more often than any other handknit. Is it because it is so spectacular in its design or construction? No. Is it something I slaved over for hundreds of hours? No. I wear this far more than any of my other knits because it keeps my ears warm! Which leads me to one inescapable conclusion as I plan my future knits: KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)
Yes, this snood is happily pink and delightfully fuzzy. As much as I love the heirloom knitting approach, sometimes I just want to cuddle up to something warm and soft!
Perhaps it is the most basic things that make us happy in the end. The poet, Neruda, realized this and wrote a wonderful series of poems called Elemental Odes, celebrating the beauty of the ordinary. The poems have been translated into English and are wonderful. Here is an exerpt from one of my favorites, the ode to salt:
From “Ode to Salt”
…In ... caves
the salt moans, mountain
of buried light,
translucent cathedral,
crystal of the sea, oblivion
of the waves.
And then on every table
in the world,
salt,
we see your piquant
powder
sprinkling
vital light
upon
our food.
Preserver
of the ancient
holds of ships,
discoverer
on
the high seas,
earliest
sailor
of the unknown, shifting
byways of the foam.
Dust of the sea, in you
the tongue receives a kiss
from ocean night:
taste imparts to every seasoned
dish your ocean essence;
the smallest,
miniature
wave from the saltcellar
reveals to us
more than domestic whiteness;
in it, we taste finitude.
Pablo Neruda