WIP Wednesday—Well, Sort of. . . .

I don't actually have a new project on the go at the moment--the Spring Greens Shawl is still on my needles, patiently waiting for me. However, what I have is a couple of skeins of amazing yarn I've been itching to get my hands on!

Back in April, Shelagh and I a a few of the Knit Night Ladies went into Toronto for the Knitters' Frolic. It was heaven for anyone who loves working with fibre, including us. It was there I purchased some beautiful yarn from Fleece Artist, a lovely blend of superwash Merino wool and Tencel, which she refers to as "tree wool." It is a pretty blend of matte and shiny, with the shininess coming from the tencel. I've never worked with that fibre before, and Fleece Artist's spun and dyed yarn really caught my attention because of the sheen, the softness, and the name: Beach House. Isn't that perfect?

So, for World-wide Knit in Public Day this past Saturday, I thought I'd do a little test swatch to check what it's like to work with and, more importantly, how many stitches and rows per inch I will get from the yarn. 

I do have a project in mind, but it is from a magazine so uses a more standard yarn. You can see what I've completed of my swatch so far, but I wait to share the pattern until I know for sure it is the right one for this yarn.

What's on your needles?

WIP Wednesday - Summer Wrap

I know, I know! It doesn't even feel like Spring and I'm working on a summer wrap. Well, I can't help it . . . the few sunny / warm days we've enjoyed just make me so happy. As does the beautiful yarn I bought last year when Shelagh and I visited The Frayed Knot yarn store in Savannah.

The yarn is 630 yards of gorgeous cotton rayon hand painted by Blue Heron Yarns out of Maryland. It's got a lovely shiny and matte look to it. And the colour is called Deep Blue Sea. Cotton. Aqua. Deep Blue Sea. Summer, right?

But what to make? In my mind I picture a lovely summer shawl, a wide rectangle in waves of blue to throw over your shoulder when the air conditioning is a bit much at the office . . . or out at dinner. And because it's cotton, it could be wrapped like a scarf over a bright white T-shirt with a pair of comfy jeans. Something lacy but not too precious.

After looking for patterns in stitch guides and online--I even started a few rows of the ubiquitous Seafoam pattern--I finally found this unnamed stitch. The site considers it to be part of the lace family. I've done a few rows and I really like it . . . but should the entire wrap be done like this or maybe break it up with some stockinette to show all the lovely qualities of the yarn?

I'm going to do a few more rows like this and then decide, but I'd love some feedback: knit an entire wrap like this or add some stockinette to break it up? I'd love to hear from you!

Here's the openwork stitch. Can you see an entire wrap done like this?