When I was young, my family would head to the Como Park in St. Paul, MN, even in the depths of winter. Como includes the first zoo in Minnesota, founded in 1897, and a lakeside pavillion and 18-hole golf course, all biking distance from my childhood home. This simple, puffy cowl is a tribute to the puffy coats and giant mittens I wore to tromp ...

Warren Creek winds its way through northern Durham near my house. The creek is now obscured by houses and apartment buildings, and it’s invisible from the bridges crossing it unless you know where to look. When a storm hits, however, the little creek turns into a rush of water flowing through the urban sprawl.

Synnott’s Mill Cowl is named for the first mill that stood on the Eno River, which runs behind my house. The mill was built sometime before 1752. Though nothing remains of the original mill now, one can imagine what that first mill on the river might have looked like, surrounded by the pine forest of the North Carolina piedmont. Flowing over th...

The Rigsbee family owned large amounts of land in what is now Durham, NC. During the 1920’s, James. B. Duke purchased some of the land; Duke University’s West Campus now sits on the site of the family’s homestead. A portion of Rigsbee Road, near downtown, keeps their name tied to Durham. Taking its shape from the cloche popular when Duke purcha...

Whorls featuring circle designs have been found at archaeological sites around the globe; the circle-with-dot is nearly as widespread. The whorl that inspired this particular design came from a Roman-era Coptic site (Egypt), but similar whorls have been retrieved from German, Sassanian (Iran), Bactrian (Afghanistan), and Mexican sites.

These mittens (or fingerless mitts) are designed to accompany a hat based on a whorl1 made by the Sami people of the Artic Scandinavian region. Noall’te is the Sami word for spindle whorl. The mitts use a traditional Scandinavian shape. The example is knit in natural, undyed shades, perfectly reminiscent of this stone whorl made by the Sami.

The whorl that inspired this hat was made by the Sami people of the Arctic Scandinavian region, and noall’te is a Sami word for spindle whorl. The flat whorl, etched with lines and dots radiating from the shaft hole, called out to be a jaunty colorwork beret (accompanied by a Scandinavian-inspired pair of mittens!) The yarn, Classic Elite Mount...

The Erwin Mills in Durham, NC produced cotton and denim starting in the 1890s. By the roaring 20s, the mills were fertile territory for unionization as workers tried to improve their lot, leading to a strike across Durham cotton mills in 1934. This little striped cloche, knit in worsted yarn, pays tribute to the mill workers of Durham. The butt...

The Erwin Mills in Durham, NC produced cotton and denim starting in the 1890s. By the roaring 20s, the mills were fertile territory for unionization as workers tried to improve their lot, leading to a strike across Durham cotton mills in 1934. A match for the Erwin Mills Cloche, these striped mitts work up quickly inworsted yarn, and pay tribut...

Mighzal is inspired by two spindle whorls: the first, seen on an auction website, was identified as a whorl bearing Arabic script in a Kufic style. On close inspection, my middling Arabic skills couldn’t pick out a readable word. However, in Norway, archaeologists discovered whorls with readable words scratched into them: “Gunnhildr made the sp...

Knit from luscious baby llama and silk, these simple cabled mitts are a joy to wear. The honeycomb cable pattern evokes traditional aran sweater design in a softer package and, at only 110 yards, the mitts make a quick last-minute gift, with plenty of leftover for a second pair for you!

The Bull City Scarf is a gentle crescent worked from the bottom up with short row shaping, featuring a secret letter “D” knitted into the lace in honor of my home in Durham, NC, the “Bull City.” Beads add weight and a bit of shine to a quick worsted knit, just big enough to tuck into your coat or jacket to ward off the winter chill without addi...

The original Ray of Sunshine cowl was knit with Three Irish Girls’ special colorway You Are My Sunshine, which honors parents who have lost a child. The multicolored garter stripes combined with solid, simple lace show off that special ball of handspun or crazy variegated yarn that need a home - and could be a little hug for someone who needs it.

The Loblolly Mitts are named after the North Carolina Loblolly Pine, a fast-growing and lovely tree found across the South and in the designer’s backyard. These mitts knit up as quickly as the tree grows, in worsted weight yarn, and their unisex cable design makes them a great last minute gift.

Knit with big, fluffy yarn, the Lutsen neckwarmer is designed to keep out the bitter winds off the lakes in northern Minnesota, with its double-thick and stretchy stitch pattern. A perfect pattern for that precious skein of handspun or handpainted yarn.

This quick little market bag is a simple crochet pattern that takes only a few hours to put together. The netting stitch is super stretchy, allowing just about anything to be fit inside. The straps on this bag are a simple i-cord, picked up from the top row of the bag.

Clara is a shawlette worked from the center out, but can easily be sized up for a full shawl. She is named for the daughter I lost in March 2009 at 11 weeks gestation. Grief is a very long and personal process, and the design of this shawl mirrors the path of my recovery: the center is a soothing, repetitive garter stitch - the only thing I cou...