Autumn Accessories

21/9/2019

French Street, Kent in Autumn – Photo by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs

Today marks the Autumn Equinox and although it's still sunny and warm outside, I expect you have noticed like I have that the mornings already seem darker and the evenings are noticeably cooler. Yes, Autumn is on the way and it will soon be time to think about all those end-of-year gardening jobs.

I do love the autumn – that feeling of being a kiddie again as you kick through a pile of leaves or try to catch the next one as it floats gently down. Simple pleasures, but I never seem to tire of them and I expect most people feel the same.

Autumn – Dead-heading the hydrangeas, Moira Ravenscroft in her garden, Wyndlestraw Designs

It's also a time for reflection and meditation, isn't it. There may be lots to do: raking the lawn, trimming the bushes, preparing the house for the coming snows and low temperatures. But while you're working you can lose yourself in an audiobook or stop to watch the squirrels scampering around gathering their winter stores of acorns.

Then after a job well done, you can go back indoors for a well-deserved cup of tea and some knitting by a sunny window. What could be better...

Winter Warrior Cowl & Mitts by Anna Ravenscroft, Anna Alway Designs

So I am going to start a series of blogposts about small, simple items that you can make a start on now while there is so much to do outside. Cowls, scarves, hats and other accessories that will make a big difference when the cooler weather starts to bite.

This might be for an item you wish you'd had last winter, or perhaps someone close to you is dropping a lot of hints that they could do with a little bit of knitted wonderment. Either way, they'll be finished in no time at all. That's the beauty of small items – there's not much knitting needed to complete them!

Winter Warrior Mitts & Cowl by Anna Ravenscroft,, Anna Alway Designs

So first-up in the list of items I'll be looking at will be cowls. I don't know about you, but I always feel warmer if I can keep the cold breezes from whistling around my neck. You round the promontory by the lake and suddenly a cold breeze whips up and finds that tiny gap at the top of your collar [brrrrr....]

And the best solution for that is a cowl. Small, easy to carry, instant warmth. Perfect. So in my next blogpost, I’m going to explore the history of the cowl and include examples of knitted cowls for both men and women. Anna has just uploaded a new cowl pattern onto her Ravelry store and I'll include details about that too!

Many thanks to Anna for the photos of her Winter Warrior Cowl and Mitts. Find the pattern for those here.

And while we're chatting about photos, let me tell you about the other two in this post The one at the top of the page shows one of our favourite walks in the UK at French Street in Kent. This place is beautiful in any season, but I especially love it with the low autumn sunlight highlighting the paths. Then the middle photo shows me gathering a veritable bouquet of spent hydrangea flowers in our garden in Massachusetts. We had so many this year!

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira