New Orleans Jazz and Jazzy Cables

French Quarter Architecture

My husband and I enjoyed a recent vacation to New Orleans.  There is so much to see and do there! We explored the city's unique history with an architectural tour of the French Quarter and a fascinating tour of one of the city's old cemeteries.  We took a riverboat cruise, visited the Aquarium and the National World War II Museum, and toured a nearby plantation.

St. Louis Cemetery

Oak Alley Plantation

But we both agreed that our favorite part was the multicultural ambiance and jazz heritage that we found everywhere.

Second Line on St. Anne Street

Street musicians in Jackson Square 

Battle of the Mardi Gras Indians in Congo Square

Of course, I never go on vacation without somehow making it a knitting vacation, so I
sought out a yarn shop and very easily found The Quarter Stitch, just off Jackson Square.

Outside The Quarter Stitch

And of course, I brought a knitting project with me.  I wanted to design a cowl using 3 Irish Girls Springvale Worsted, which I just started carrying in my online store.  I swatched several stitches from one of my stitch dictionaries, but I wasn't satisfied.  Finally, inspired by the jazz musicians that I saw on the streets, I decided to improvise.  I played with a basic rhythm of knits and purls, bending and twisting until I arrived at something new and original.

Jazzy Cables Cowl

The cable construction is a bit different - more of a twist than a true cable, it creates a totally reversible fabric, which was my goal at the outset.  I'm excited about the technique I devised; it opens up possibilities for endless variation. Sort of jazzy, don't you think?