Knitting - a simple act - continues to amaze me. There have been times that the yarn and needles running through my hands are so deeply embedded in my memory that I can remember the very stitches I made, one at a time. Sitting beside a hospital bed of a loved one, on a castle wall in Italy with the loveliest of views, working on a cabled cardigan or a simple scarf. The Journal Cowl takes the idea of remembered stitches quite literally, using fair isle motifs to create a visual travel journal. This is a knit you can take with you on your travels, picking and choosing motifs based on what you see rolling by your window, what streets you walk or mountains you climb. Knitting your chosen motifs in a linear cowl creates a journal of your travels. A cowl that lets you retrace your steps through trains and planes, ocean views, festivals and museums. Stitches you’ll remember.

I’ve made mine based on an epic trip I took with my husband many years ago. It was a three month backpacking journey through Europe where we visited Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and ultimately Italy, where we spent several months on an organic farm.

Journal is an untraditional knitting pattern. Rather than giving you a set of specific instructions, Journal gives you a few parameters and encourages you to utilize your creativity to make your own unique fair isle cowl. I’ve given the charts for my cowl, which is specific to my trip, but I’ve also given some charts for you to make your own. I’ve shared the motifs I used that could be part of any trip: train tracks, airplane, ocean, hills, festive flags, sun/set, a bridge, etc., as well as some blank graph paper you can use to create your own motifs. I’ve given you the stitches and rows you’ll need to create the size cowl pictured.