Angie: A Lesson in Applied Mindfulness

What do we have here?

Yes, it's a bag. The package contains "stuff."  Nothing special, just a few vacation treats.  The photograph shows something else that is not readily apparent: it's an example of mindfulness in action.

I go to Worldly Accents every time I visit Kelowna.  I like the merchandise, but the reason the store appeals to me is the care and attention the staff takes with small details.

Everything is wrapped in handmade paper, tied with hemp string, garnished with a dried leaf and placed carefully in a recycled bag.  Yes, it's good for business, but it's also an extra touch that shows someone has the time to pay attention to the task at hand.

We practise mindfulness for itself, not to achieve a goal or get somewhere, but what I notice with regular practice is that I'm becoming more mindful about my life in general and the work that I do.  I pay attention to the details of what passes through my hands.

"Angie" is an example: this cowl began with a hand spun 2 ply angora and silk yarn, dyed with walnut husks.  I had 140 metres of this soft, soft yarn and I wanted to knit a special project.

I knit several samples, but nothing quite worked until I modified a lacy rib pattern, staggering the "ribs" in alternate sets.  The pattern is reversible-I like to make things which are attractive no matter which side shows. 

I also like to make things which can be worn in a variety of ways, so Angie began with a basic knitted cast on.  I knit until I was almost out of yarn, then cast off in picot edging.  Worked on 88 stitches, this cowl is loose fitting, so I added a twisted cord which can be laced through either end, depending where I want the picots to sit:

Attention to details, mindfulness in action, paid off.  I'm pleased with the cowl.  I've included a simple version here, so you, too, can practise applied mindfulness.  This version is knit with Aslan Trends's Royal Alpaca.  One skein makes a cowl long enough to be doubled over or pulled over the head as a nachaq.  It's tight enough that it can be folded at one end and used as a hat.

You can increase the circumference of the cowl by adding stitches in multiples of 4.  (Be sure to buy more yarn if you do this.)

If you stay with the original 64 stitches, cast off in picot edging-casting off in pattern makes the cowl too tight to frame your face.  You can omit the picot cast on.  The stitches on this cast on are picked up as you go and match the cast off.

The stitch pattern is reversible.

Angie: Mindfulness Cowl

1-100 gram skein Aslan Royal Alpaca (220 metres) or similar yarn

4 mm circular needle/ 40 cm long or needles to give gauge of approximately

4 sts/inch: 16 sts/10 cm

Finished size, unblocked, is approximately 38 cm/15 inches long x 38/15 inches around.  Finished size, blocked, is approximately 40 cm/16 inches long x 40 cm/16 cm around.  The pattern has a lot of lateral stretch.

Picot Cast On

Make a slip knot with your yarn.  Place this stitch on LH needle and use it to *cast on 2 sts onto LH needle.  Bind off 2 sts. (1 st remains on RH needle.)  Notice the loop hanging down from your knitting.  Pick up this loop and place it on your LH needle.  Move the st on the RH needle to the LH needle* and repeat from * to * until you have 63 loops and 1 st on your needle (or desired number of sts).  64 sts.

Place marker on RH needle, join round and work in pattern as follows:

Rnds 1-3:  *K3, P1* repeat from * to * to end of rnd.

Rnd 4:        *yo, K3tog, wrn, P1* to end of rnd.

Work until the cowl measures approximately 38 cm/15 inches long.

Bind off in picot edging:

Using cable or knitted cast on, cast on 2 stitches on to your left needle.  *Bind off 1 stitch.  There is one cast on stitch remaining on the right hand needle.  K2 tog, and bind off one of the cast on stitches on the right hand needle by pulling the single stitch over the k2tog stitch.  Place the remaining stitch on the left needle and use this stitch to cast on 2 stitches on to the left needle.* Repeat from * until you have one stitch remaining on your needle.  Fasten off this stitch.

Make a twisted or crocheted cord and pompoms from remaining yarn and thread through the bound off edge of cowl.

Wash in warm water and no rinse wool wash product.  Roll cowl in towel to remove excess water.  Shape to size and dry flat.

©Deborah Behm 2011

Meanderings and the Endless Circle Cowl

One of the many things I love about my involvement with fibre arts is that the work will never be done.  No matter how much I study or how long I live, I will never reach an end point, a time when there is nothing more for me to learn.  I wander along this path and there is that which comes to me.  If I choose that road there, I will find a different perspective with many happy accidents along the way.  Sometimes I'll just wander around in circles.

It's a common saying that the journey is part of the process.  For me, the journey is the process.  I am suspicious of anyone who claims to be on the one true path, whether that path leads to the perfect way to knit, the best yoga practice or the one true path to glory.  The point at which you become convinced that you've found THE TRUTH is the point where you stop learning.  Keep an open mind and you grow.

Growth doesn't have to occur in leaps and bounds.  Tiny steps are just as effective in helping you to learn.  In the past few weeks, I've learned a couple of things; neither is earth-shaking, but both have added to my knitting pleasure.  One of the people in spinning class showed me a new way to wind a centre-pull ball of yarn.  Lindsay's "thumb as nostepinne" is a simple way to wind yarn without any extraneous tools.  It's a handy (yes, bad pun intended) thing to know when you're without noste or ballwinder.

Then there is Cat Bordhi's Moebius Cast On:

 This technique has been around for a very long time but I never had the urge to learn it.  It seemed complicated.  It is not.  Like most useful things, it is simple and straightforward.  Understanding this cast on will allow you to knit this cowl in a jiffy:

I designed the "Endless Circle" cowl as a pattern for Malabrigo Rasta yarns.  It's a gorgeous yarn, very bulky and fairly expensive.  Golden Willow Natural Fibers needed something to show what could be made from one skein of the yarn besides a scarf.  The cowl knits up in an hour or so and makes a great gift.  (It's much prettier when worn; unfortunately, Morris, Mick and Mr. DD were reluctant to model the piece.  Well, Morris was willing, but I'm not sure it would have been a good thing.)  You can substitute any yarn, but be sure you add more stitches to your cast on.

Endless Circle Cowl

When using the Moebius cast on method, remember that one cast on stitch equals two knitting stitches in the cowl.  You need one circular needle, at least 40 inches/100 cm long.

Gauge:  2—2.5 stitches per inch on 9 to 12.75 mm/US 13 to 17 needles.

Using a long circular needle and the Moebius cast on, loosely cast on 30 stitches.  Be sure there is only one cross in your circular needle.  Place marker and begin to work in K1 P1 ribbing pattern around your Moebius.  On the first round, you will knit or purl into the open ``V`` of each stitch so that subsequent stitches will be aligned properly. 

One full round will equal 60 stitches.  Your marker will appear on the left hand needle at the end of each round. Work each stitch as presented, i.e. knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches. 

When your cowl body is approximately 12 to 13 cm/5 inches in depth, begin the
Picot Bind Off:

Using cable or knitted cast on, cast on 2 stitches on to your left needle.  *Bind off 1 stitch.  There is one cast on stitch remaining on the right hand needle.  K2 tog, and bind off one of the cast on stitches on the right hand needle by pulling the single stitch over the k2tog stitch.  Place the remaining stitch on the left needle and use this stitch to cast on 2 stitches on to the left needle.* Repeat from * until you have one stitch remaining on your needle.  Fasten off this stitch.

Weave in all ends.  Block lightly, if desired.  

Deborah Behm

©February 2011

"I'd be a gorgeous model, Mom, and I'm so helpful when you're spinning!"