When I first held Anzula’s new yarn, Gerty, in my hands, I let out a squeal. The 100% American Targhee wool felt amazing in my hands. It’s woolly, but also soft and light to the touch. It has spring to it and I knew it would be great for textured stitches. Charlie helped me choose 3 colors to design a cowl. The design was going to be launched as a kit at TNNA’s Summer Show on Sample It night.

Hanashōbu is a species of Japanese Iris. The colors that the Anzula team helped me pick out were perfect for the cowl’s name sake. I used Slate, Orchid and Violet for this cowl. The Slate which is a grey was used as the main color. 

I swatched for a while and ripped out many times before I settled on something I loved. The cowl uses a slipped stitch pattern and then lace.

Hanashōbu is knitted top down and begins with the collar of the cowl. The collar is knitted with a slipped stitch pattern which is meant to be folded down like a turtle neck sweater. The rest of the cowl is knit in a lace pattern that increases so that it flares out over your shoulders. There are minimal ends to deal with because the colors are carried as you knit it.

One of my favorite parts about this pattern is that you will have enough yarn to make a second cowl. It’s perfect for bff’s, mother/daughter, or sister gifts. As you can see, my daughter loves wearing her Hanashōbu. My sister also looks great in the cowl, too.

Gerty blocks out beautifully. It really retains its stitch definition even after a short soak and good block. Look at the pretty lace detail on the bottom of the cowl.

The pattern is now available on Ravelry here. From now until Sept 30, you can buy Hanashōbu for a discounted price of $4 by using the coupon code “ILoveGerty” at the checkout. For yarn shops that would like high quality print copies for their store, they can be purchased at wholesale through Stitch Sprouts 

You can see more of Angela's patterns on Ravelry and on her website.

Gerty is available in the shops listed below, all of whom are happy to ship!

Baskets of Yarn - Charlotte, NC - (704) 733-9053
Wasatch and Wool - Park City, UT - (435) 575-0999
Yarn Refuge - Reno, NV - (775) 384-1600
Knit One Purl Two - Rockford, IL - (815) 904-6030
Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - (234) 208-9482
Avenue Yarns - Albany, NY - (510) 526-9276

Special orders only: Swatches - Fresno, CA - (559) 435-2813
Special orders are dyed to order and are typically ready in 3-5 weeks.You can place a special order for Gerty (or any of our yarns) at your favorite local shop. See a list of shops here and our map here.