Goodness, that’s an absurdly long post title; but I have lots of exciting things to share with you today. First of all, please welcome the Helenental Cowl!
I’ll be totally honest; this release is a bit last minute. I don’t even have progress photos to show you because I was too busy knitting maniacally to take them—it’s a good thing that wool is flame retardant, because otherwise my needles/hook would have been smoking. (Okay, maybe that’s exaggerating just a little bit.)
Despite the fact that I’ve been thinking about this design on and off all year, inspiration strikes when it strikes. I realized back in January that 2020 marks Beethoven’s 250th birthday; and of course the classical music geek in me (you’ve seen Mélodies, right?) wanted to celebrate. After all, you’re only 250 years old once.
But life happened (specifically, 2020 happened…) and whenever Beethoven’s birthday came to mind I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. Again, the man’s only going to have one 250th birthday; and while I might be around for his 300th, I didn’t really want to wait that long to party. It had to be just right, and it had to be now.
I’ll spare you the 11 months’ worth of deliberation, musing, finger-twiddling, and failed ideas. The condensed version is that I had a brain-wave about a month ago while researching places that were important in Beethoven’s life. All year long I’d been thinking about his music and trying to turn one of his compositions into a design; but let’s face it: Beethoven is a titan, and trying to turn a titanic symphony or concerto, or even a sonatina, into a piece of knitwear is kind of like trying to turn a blue whale into a coaster for your corner table. Not happening. (Does this mean I’ll never try it again? Don’t count on it.) One of Beethoven’s favorite places to walk, think, and gather inspiration was Helenental, a river valley not far from Vienna, where he lived for much of his career. A quick Google image search and I was off.
The knit version was actually conceived first, using a lace stitch that I’d been holding in the back of my mind for some time. However, I started the crochet version first using yarn I had in my stash. From there the two were developed side by side, bouncing off of each other. In the end, they look quite different; but still a pair. It’s been nearly a year since I released a knit/crochet set, and I’d almost forgotten how much fun it can be.
Both cowls use worsted weight yarn, and could probably be finished in a week if you’re faster than I am. (There was lots of ripping out and re-crocheting on the green sample, because I was trying to crochet and watch a Chinese soap opera with English subtitles at the same time. Don’t laugh.) I designed them both to maximize the recommended yarn; the crochet version used 2 hanks of Malabrigo Rios while the knit version used 2 hanks of Knit Picks Twill, both with very little left over.
Both are worked flat from the top down and then sewn with a very short seam at the back neck (there’s a handy diagram in the pattern to show you exactly how to do this). Both are on the easier side of intermediate. The crochet version uses back- and front- post double crochet and puff stitches, while the knit version uses basic lace stitches and nupps. I’ve heard this kind of project referred to as moose lace—easy lace worked in heavy yarn.
The patterns for both versions can be purchased through either Ravelry or Lovecrafts, as is customary at Red Earth Design Studio; I’ll put the links at the end of the post as well as here:
Helenental Crochet (Lovecrafts)
Now, no special day—even Beethoven’s birthday—could be more special than Christmas; and the fact that Beethoven’s birthday (December 16) is in the same month as Christmas just means that Beethoven, great man that he is, will just have to move over.
Last year I released Farthest Coast to raise money for HopeRussia as part of the Christmas celebration here at the studio; this year I wanted to do something similar, but wasn’t sure how the charity fundraiser would fit in alongside Beethoven’s birthday festivites. Typical me—the answer was staring me right in the face.
Since my early teens I’ve been involved on an annual basis with the Columbia County Orchestra, my local community orchestra. We have a professional orchestra in town; but the CCO is made up solely of volunteers. Some are professional musicians with other organizations and do this in their spare time; some are retirees with a robust love of music; others, like me, are students looking to stretch their music muscles. The CCO’s conductor, Rob Nordan, was my first voice teacher and sheds music the way those machines at movie theaters shoot out popcorn.
In any case, the CCO is funded entirely by donations (many of which are dropped into a basket or box in the back of the room after performances). They had a hefty selection of Beethoven’s works planned for this year’s season, I assume in celebration of the 250th birthday; but thanks to COVID, their entire season is now cancelled—even their beloved annual sing-in of Handel’s Messiah, which would normally have taken place the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
So, in honor of Christmas, Beethoven, and music, both versions of the Helenental Cowl will be on sale on Ravelry for 25% off until 7:00 PM EST on Saturday, December 12; use the coupon code Beethoven250 at checkout. All proceeds from this three-day sale will be donated to the CCO to support their work once they are able to resume performing. They’re a miniature institution in our community and an important part of my life, and I hope that whatever money is raised through this sale will help enable them to continue on after what has been a hard year for musicians everywhere.
Beethoven’s Birthday Cowl-Along
Now, I said something in the title about a cowl-along. You heard me—Red Earth Designs is having its first-ever make-along! I mentioned this on Monday and dropped a link at the end of the post, but now here are all the details I promised.
We’ll kick off on December 16, Beethoven’s birthday (some scholars think it may have been the 17th, but that’s another conversation) in the Red Earth Designs Ravelry group. Unfortunately, only Ravelry users will be able to participate—currently it’s the only platform I know of with all the infrastructure needed for an event of this kind. (An account is free, if you’re looking to join.) The event will end January 20, 2021; so if you need to wait to join the cowl-along until after you’ve finished your holiday making, you’ve got plenty of time. Further signup instructions are given in the discussion thread, which I’ve linked to above.
All cowl patterns designed by my (hopefully good) self are eligible for the cowl-along; knitters and crocheters are both welcome! Photos of all the eligible patterns are below, along with Ravelry links to the pattern pages; to see all the eligible patterns in a single bundle, click here. Some are self-published, some are free, some are traditionally published; either way, if you see something you like, please do consider joining the fun!
Knit
Crochet
We’ll be playing trivia games with fun Beethoven facts; some will be harder than others, but nothing that isn’t easily Google-able. I’ve been a Beethoven nerd since childhood; my knuckles are cracking just thinking about these games! I’ll be giving away Ravelry coupon codes for free patterns as prizes for correct answers.
And there will be yarn prizes! Once all the finished objects are compiled at the end of the cowl-along, I’ll do a random number drawing and give away some fabulous skeins. I have four skeins of Malabrigo yarn to give away (the first two will be given away as one prize):
In addition to the four skeins above, Lisa from The Spinning Room in Altamont, NY has offered up these fun yarns as well!
If you’d like to knit or crochet a cozy new cowl, celebrate Beethoven’s birthday, try for one of these prizes, or any combination of the above, please do consider joining in on the fun! Again, we’ll be kicking off a week from today in this thread; so get ready!
Helenental is available from all channels listed below; to get 25% off until 7:00 PM EST on Saturday, December 12, purchase through Ravelry with coupon code Beethoven250.
