Penmanship Cowl

As an elementary school teacher, the end of August is always a sad and exciting time. Sad because summer is truly the best season of all for me. I love everything about it including this summer's sweltering temperatures. I know that autumn is coming, bit by bit, tiptoeing into our evenings. It's also exciting because I get to begin a new year, with plenty of eager minds to enjoy -- a fresh start, just as the earth is rounding its way toward its final quarter spin around the sun.

In honor of the beginning of school, I have a new (free) pattern on Ravelry - the Penmanship Cowl.

In 4th grade I had what was then known as an "open" classroom. Two teachers, 50 kids, and a huge physical space. I didn't like it, but I liked Mrs. Falsone. She taught us penmanship. By the 4th grade we were eager to write in "script." The curlicues of the cables reminded me of those curved lines we looped all over the page. The openwork is reminiscent of the dots that filled the paper showing you where you were to begin and end each letter and word.