Resistance Garden Cowl

***All proceeds from the sale of this pattern benefit the [Immigrant Legal Resource Center][1].*** This bottom-up knit cowl was designed to evoke images of community care and resistance, such as the community gardens planted both for sustenance and to foster hope and connection. While we tend to think of dandelions as weeds, in the language of flowers dandelions symbolize resilience, survival, and the fulfillment of wishes; dandelions have also been used in traditional medicine for centuries. The name originated from the Latin Dens leonis, or Lion’s tooth, before being translated as “dent de lion” in a sixteenth-century edition of Virgil’s Aeneid. We see them clinging tenaciously, able to thrive almost anywhere. Meanwhile, daffodils – perennial bulbs that divide and redivide – are often one of the first flowers to bloom after winter, symbolizing rebirth, new beginnings, and joy. In her novel Camilla, Madeleine L’Engle wrote: “A daffodil pushing up through the dark earth to the spring, knowing somehow deep in its roots that spring and light and sunshine will come, has more courage and more knowledge of the value of life than any human being I've met.” This pattern combines the daffodil and the dandelion with roots fashioned after the US electrical symbol for a resistor. The pattern is available in two versions: * Version A (Resist Motif): A fingering weight version with the “Resist” motif, flowers, and resistance roots. (Gauge: 28 stitches and 32 rows over 4x4” square; requires five colors, approx. 245 total yards) * Version B (Floral): A worsted weight Floral version featuring the flowers and resistance roots for those who may need a more subtle statement. (Gauge: 21 stitches and 28 rows over a 4"x4" square; requires five colors, approx. 236 total yards) The pattern includes a knit rib on either edge, a center section of stranded-colorwork, and the option to add a Latvian braid between the ribbing and colorwork on each end. Directions include written instructions for the top/bottom and a chart for the stranded colorwork. [1]: https://www.ilrc.org/