A Cowl for the Revolution

About the only thing I can really handle these days is really simple knitted projects. The simpler the better. The smaller the better, too. It's as if the existential anxiety I'm experiencing is seeping so deep into my bones and muscles it renders me incapable of counting, solving simple math problems, overcoming challenges of any sort.

At least it has a name. This thing, this existential anxiety. Putting a name on it makes it real and it also means it's not just me, which is strangely comforting. I was also told that when there is anxiety at this level it often leads to real change. Action. Collective action or progress to a new level. This is also somewhat comforting. Though I suspect the change we really need may take so long to get here the damage will be deep. We need a revolution!!

So while the collective whole gathers the energy it's gonna need for the coming revolution, I knit small things intended as gifts. Here, a little neckwarmer. Very soft, very cozy.

The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Merino, a yarn getting alot of play around these parts lately. I picked up two skeins of this color awhile back and it's been percolating in my stash. I've even attempted other projects with it with little success. Until I hit on this small project. A simple tube knitted with some eyelets to keep it interesting. Just knit around in a circle with a few small blips (or eyelets in this case) and stop when it feels like it's long enough.

The color is called Bosques, which means woodland in Spanish. I like the idea of woodlands, and in this yarn it translates to some deep greens, leading to black and lighter greens leading to pale pale green/beige/yellow. The one surprise is the little hints of blue which come up when this piece is held up to natural daylight. Not sure you can see it in these shots.

The Spanish name and the translation remind me of some woods I explored when I was a small child, living in Santiago, Chile. These woods were in a seaside resort called Vina del Mar, by Valparaiso. The aroma of pine needles, the tall pines piercing a clear blue sky. I still remember those woods and the vacations we took there, with the sea and the pines.

The Details:
Pattern: Stacked Eyelet Cowl, by Amy Madison (used as a guide, I made modifications) ravel it
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino, Bosques, just shy of a full skein
Needles: Size 7
Started: November 28, 2008
Finished: November 29, 2008 - good Thanksgiving weekend knitting