I grew up surrounded by mountains that shaped the horizon. Briefly, I lived places where buildings framed what little of the sky you could see. Then I moved to the flatlands of the Midwest of the US, where the absence of relief was disorienting until I learned to pay attention to the skyscape, not the landscape. From shapeshifting and dramatic to completely smooth and devoid of clouds, the vast dome of the sky on a bike ride through the cornfields feels like a a hug from space.

This scarf is an homage to the sky, on those days when it’s filled with traveling fluffy soft cumulus clouds exuding lightness and tranquility. The texture of Madelinetosh’s Tosh Silk Cloud, in the color Sky Wash, was just perfect for making clouds. But many other silk mohair yarns and colorways would work, mimicking anything from gray nimbostratus, to red, orange, yellow, or pink clouds during the golden hour.

The clouds are knit into a background canvas made from a smooth yarn the color of the sky. Just as the puffy cumulus clouds easily disperse, one side of the scarf is cloud-free. While the actual cloud-free sky is smooth as a mirror, sometimes I imagine what would it be like if it could reflect the earth like water reflects the sky. Then I would see the endless grid of corn and soybean fields. The basketweave pattern is meant to mimic that texture.

Several rows of clouds into the making of the sample, I realized that I may have been subconsciously inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s Above the Clouds series.