Sadly, “the shoemaker’s daughter has no shoes” is an adage I relate to all too well. Most of my knit samples are photographed and then sent around the country in trunk shows. They rarely come back to me, so when I have the chance to purchase a piece of hand-knitting, I jump, especially when it serves double duty as an accessory and inspiration.

My Kosi Cowl was inspired by a cowl I purchased in Iceland, designed
and knit by an unknown knitter as part of a fund-raising effort. I swapped
warm, fuzzy Icelandic wool for Balance Bulky, a chunky organic wool and cotton blend from O-Wool. The original was knit in a wintry palette of off-white, neutral brown, cerulean, and ash grey-blue. It struck me as utterly modern and idiosyncratic, the same combination I strove for with my color choices.