The Joys of Blocking

Pattern is Abrazo from the most recent Twist Collective.  Its knit in knitpicks new tonal lace yarn, and I love it.  Its one of the first (if not the absolute first) attempts at lace knitting in a lace weight yarn.  I did find it difficult to get used to.  Its not like knitting with nose hairs, as its been suggested by other knitters opposed to knitting with lace weight, but it is a little tricky.  The results are stunning though, and definitely worth it. 

This pattern actually called for knitting in beads, which I omitted because I hadn't done that before either, but I might contemplate it at sometime.  This designer has a new pattern in knitty called Annis which is very similar to this one, except it uses nupps instead of beads.  I might try this one too. 


Can you believe that some people never block their work?  I'm sure that its not lace knitters.  Blocking this was a real joy, seeing how the pattern opened up. 

Ysolda - How do I love thee?

Last night 'Twist Collective' went live. That is, the online magazine published their fall issue. I am smitten with a cardigan by Ysolda Teague called Vine Yoke Cardigan. I bought the pattern within the first minute of the issue going up. This is my dream cardigan. I've been saying for some time now that I've been wanting a cardi knit side to side. I'm a sucker for any type of unusal construction. And the best part - its garter stitch. I'm a sucker for garter stitch too. I just need to see if I have any yarn in my stash that will work, because there is no way that I'm buying another sweater's worth of yarn when I have about 8 sweater's worth in my stash. I haven't really taken a close look at the pattern but I'm sure it is well written. This won't be my first Ysolda pattern. I've knit a pair of her tiny shoes. (There are two of them, just didn't get a picture)














I've also knit Ishbel. I had a bit of trouble with that one, but it was my own fault.


















And I've almost finished the Leisl cardigan. I'm so close on this one that its ridiculous. I've just got about 5 inches left on one sleeve.
















Overall, Ysolda's patterns are so clever and well written. They are classic. Okay, I'm off to finish the Leisl and cast on for Vine Yoke. I'm on holidays starting next week for 3 straight weeks. I wonder can I finish a sweater in 3 weeks? We are driving to Quebec. I hope I don't get motion sickness while knitting in the truck. Its a looooong drive. We'll see.