Projects
Hello, Pressed Flowers Cowl!
Dear Kay,
Amy Christoffers is on fire these days.
She started by giving us the Pressed Flowers Shawl, which you (and a bazillion other knitters) dropped everything to make.
Instant classic. Allison made one in Atlas and Dream State here.
Then Amy cooked up the Pressed Flowers Cardigan, which bewitched everybody last fall.
Pressed Flowers as garment!
And the Pressed Flowers Hat …
We love it for Mohonk and Spincycle Dyed in the Wool.
Now, Amy just launched her Pressed Flowers Cowl.
And I’m all in.
I’m going with the longest of the three sizes, because I like doubling up a cowl.
The yarn? Three skeins of Atlas for the main color, two skeins of Dream State for flowers.
I’m going with Dream State by Spincycle, in Salty Dog. This seems to me a fine use for a yarn that shifts colors in an unpredictable way. And our Atlas in Leek for the background gives a little unity to the thing.
Allison, Cristina, and I had fun trying out color combinations. Because we all love options, here are our seven favorites of the moment. (This changes pretty much hourly.) (Dream State on the left, Atlas on the right.)
Overpasses and Mallard:
Stay Ready and Mouse:
Rusted Rainbow and Clementine:
Ghost Ranch and Whisper:
What Kind of Knitting Is That?
It’s one color at a time, with slip stitches, known as mosaic knitting.
I haven’t done much of this before, so it is all-new fun for me. The rhythm of it is easy and entertaining, and the effect is cool!
Amy’s World and Welcome to It
Amy has just launched an email newsletter, Savory Knitting, so be sure to hop on that for news of her latest designs. We have been fans of her work for a long time, and Field Guide No. 6: Transparency gave us the chance to see her inventive mind at work. Keep going, Amy! We’re here for all the pressed flowers you can cook up.
Love,
Ann
Are the directions entirely written out? I’d love to make this but I have no experience with charts!
I have started my shawl and have a question on reading the chart. When you finish a row and the single stitch for the spine do you repeat the row reading it again right to left. Or repeat that row but read left to right?
I got over my aversion to charts when I bought a shawl pattern I really, really wanted to make and it was only charted. I wrote out the directions long-hand and by the time I got to the middle of the pattern, I had memorized the symbols and no longer needed written directions.
To keep my place when working from a chart, I use a post-it note and place it either right under (right above would work, too) the row I am working on so I don’t get lost.
Cathy, you’re in luck. I bought the pattern this morning and it is both written and charted. This could be a great time to start learning charts. If you use the written and charted pattern side by side, the chart will start to make sense. And of course, there’s always plenty of help in the lounge!
Hi
I am having a difficult time understanding the pattern/chart. Once you complete the first 56 rows when you go back to repeat do you only do the 16 stitches in the middle to accommodate for the increased number of stitches. I am so confused!
I had to start it a few times to get the hang of it. I started with the written to figure it out. Once I ripped out the first few rows a few times it was SO easy and relaxing. I now love mosaic knitting- be patient at the start!
Absolutely love all of the Pressed Flowers patterns. I knit the cardigan (one of my favorite projects ever) and am working on the cowl now. Great color combination suggestions for the cowl!
I have been wanting to make a pressed flowers cowl for a while!
The color combinations are fabulous! I would love to try the pressed flowers cardigan.
I just love the pink and brown in the long cowl – gorgeous!
Do you have a color of Spincycle that looks good with Barn red atlas? It is hard to tell on the computer?
Do you have a color of Spincycle that would look good with Barn Red atlas? I am having trouble knowing on my computer?
Do you have a color of Spincycle that looks good with barn red atlas? It is hard to tell on the computer.
I bet rusted rainbow would look good!
OMG! I just finished the Pressed Flower Shawl such a fun and relaxing knit. I definitely have to put the cowl on my knitting bucket list. Love the colors you chose!
I’m knitting the Pressed Flowers Cardigan right now – and the two swatches are doing duty as coasters for our TV and knitting tea. So pretty!
Bewitching, indeed. Those combos are great, so entertaining to contemplate the possibilities I have yet to knit a Pressed Flowers pattern, but I have them all!! I need more knitting time in my life!!
The cardigan is definitely on my bucket list. I may do some fun dyeing the yarn for the flowers.
Don’t forget the Pressed Flowers dishcloth! It’s easy to modify the pattern, and a good way to “swatch” and practice the pattern.
Hi, Katherine!
I checked Ravelry and could not find it under pattern “Pressed Flowers” dishcloth. Would you mind providing the designer’s name?
Thanks!
Elisabeth
I have made the shawl and the hat. I now want to make the cowl and wear them all at the same time like those women with all-leopard-print-all-the-time!
Ann-thank you so much. I love it when you do color combinations. It is so very helpful. Happy Valentines Day to you and everyone else on the MDK team.
I just realized I have stash yarn that would work for this. Maybe it’s time to give up and buy the pattern. I’m not usually one to jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is.
I have the hat pattern, but that shawl is lucious!
Somebody put Pressed Flowers and bucket (as in bucket list) into the same comment, which conflated – for me – into Pressed Flowers Bucket Hat. Stiffer and different in shape than the original, but somehow together in the same spirit with the pattern. If only I were good at pattern writing. On the other hand, I too love a doubled up cowl. Looks like I have a long-term project on my hands. Once I’ve got the color combo nailed down.
I’ve made three pressed flower shawls. One in felted tweed and two in Hempathy (1 for a friend) My hempathy in light sage with dark turquoise flowers is stunning and wonderful for spring /summer. Cowl is next. Excited to try Atlas! Fun knitting!
I’ve been wanting to make a Pressed Flowers Shawl for a while but keep putting it off because a lot of knitters seem to have difficulty getting started. Any tips to make the beginning of the shawl clearer/easier?
I didn’t have much trouble getting started on the cardigan. The only trick, for me, was making sure the initial flowers are placed correctly. Since then it’s been easier than I expected.
You ladies are such wonderfully delicious enablers!! I read your letter the other day about the Pressed Flowers Cardigan with great interest, as I thought I had spied Kay wearing one during Alabama Chanin’s visit to Nashville. (I was not there, but thought I saw it in your photos.) I was most envious of that cardigan, so after reading the letter again and again, I bought the pattern and some yarn. I wanted the Spincycle Dyed in the Wool in RED and I couldn’t find it in your shop, so sadly, I had to go elsewhere, but now I have it in my hot little hands and CANNOT wait to get started! Thanks always for your charming and informative letters. You never cease to brighten my morning cup of tea!
Can you site the yarn for the cardigan? Do you have it online!