WIP: Sock Yarn Blankie

Just a quick update on my Sock Yarn blankie which is rumbling on quietly in the background.

Sometimes I don't pick it up for a few day or even a week, but that's fine.

It's always there and it's quite nice to greet it as an old friend and work on it for some peaceful, quiet knitting when I'm need of something calm.

I love looking at the blocks of colour and seeing how they play against each other - I am easily amused, clearly :)

FO Friday: Velvet Rose

A really lovely pattern to share with you today - the new design by Helen Stewart of the Curious Handmade Podcast: Velvet Rose shawl.

I was lucky enough to be able to help out with test knitting this lovely shawl, especially as it meant that I was able to use almost every last inch of some wonderful Golden Skein Yarn. I used the Dye For Yarn merino/baby camel from the last Golden Skein package - Tornado over London.

It is a fingering weight yarn with a squooshy 480m per skein and so I wanted a project that would allow me to use up almost all of the yarn, without leaving too much in my 'leftovers' bag.

I haven't knit one of Helen's patterns before but I had heard from other knitters that she writes her patterns in a really lovely, clear way and I'm pleased to confirm that this is indeed so. In particular she includes stitch counts after increase rows along with the percentage of yarn used. I really loved this aspect as it meant I had the confidence in my remaining yarn and that I didn't have to play 'yarn chicken' - as mentioned by the Knitmore Girls - as I approached the bind-off.

The yarn knit up wonderfully, the pattern was fabulous and the whole thing was just a pleasure to knit, and in little under a week, amazingly quick too.

Isn't is great when yarn and pattern combine in perfect harmony?