137 DeKoven Street

Do you know what that address is famous for? Legend has it that on Sept. 26, 1871, in the alley behind 137 DeKoven Street, Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lantern and the city of Chicago burned. We are a resourceful bunch and within days, we were rebuilding and getting back to business as usual.

With Vogue Knitting Live gracing our fair city once again, we partnered with the lovelies at Windy Knitty to design a colorway that embraced this piece of lore. In the past, we've done colors honoring both Potter and Bertha Palmer, the visionaries behind the Palmer House (and where the event is held).

Mandy came by the studio a few weeks back and we had a super morning playing in the dyepots. We embraced the reds and oranges of fire as well at the licks of blue and the pops of gold. At the end of the day, I think we did pretty good.

Then we thought you'd want something do with your pretty string, so we got together with Margaret Kendall and she created Rise from the Ashes.

This killer cowl is mosaic stitch worked in the round. It's a fabulous way to show off a high contrast multicolor. It's one of those patterns that make it look like you are a colorwork genius when in fact you are just cleverly slipping stitches. Smoke and mirrors. I love it when I can look fancier than I really am.

You'll be able to find it at Windy Knitty's booth, 102-104, at VK Live this weekend.We only dyed 50 hanks of this colorway on Solemate and burned the recipe afterward. So, when it's gone, it's gone.  You better act fact!

For a little bit more fun, Windy Knitty is doing a giveaway over on their blog. Even if you don't want to enter, (yeah, right) Mandy did a super job of talking about the fire and the history of the fire and the Palmer House. It's a good read.