It's surprisingly wearable.
So much so that I'll probably knit this pattern again. Several times. I hardly ever say that so what's the trick? The yarn. It's all in the yarn. (Ok, the pattern is delightful and easy, mindless knitting. But it's a real pleasure with the right yarn.)
I used one skein of Swans Island fingering weight in the Early Thyme colorway (nearly the entire skein - there certainly wasn't enough left to work another repeat of the pattern). This yarn surprised me. I've looked at it for over a year now whenever I've stumbled on it in yarn shops and it never seemed to be quite what I was looking for. The colors change quite a bit between dye lots and it could be that the current lot was never really "my" color. It's on the pricey side, but not outrageously so, and I wanted something just right at that price point.
Then Mr. Tinks and Frogs brought me this skein as a surprise gift a couple of months ago and I fell in love. It's soft in the skein but it's really soft when you're knitting with it. I must admit I've become a bit blase about merino - it seems to be in everything these days. But this yarn reminded me just why merino is so special. And it doesn't hurt that it's organic and colored with natural dyes.
And while I'm mooning over Swans Island, have you seen their woven blankets?
Before I forget myself and accidentally order one of those blankets (boy, would that blow the budget!), back to Citron.
The ruched sections seemed to take forever once I was on the last couple sections but they were my favorite parts to knit. I just loved seeing the yarn worked up at that denser gauge.
The pattern calls for 440 yards of laceweight yarn and I'm pretty sure I used at least 500 even though I used the recommended needle size (6). Maybe I was just extra relaxed working with this delicious yarn.
I'll definitely keep my eye out for dye lots that I like, now that I know what fun Swans Island is to knit.
8 comments:
So lovely! I've been wanting to knit it, but I have so many shawls already!!! Curious about that yarn you rave about now, too...
I have had my eye on that yarn for a while now and am happy to know you like it. Citron is lovely.
Rue - it's beautiful. I absolutely love the photos, too. What a great color on you!
Hmm, green! The color is so beautiful on you, Rue, and even though I haven't knit one myself, I can totally see the appeal of Citron. The yarn you describe sounds incredible!
Your Citron suits you so well. It is lovely And tadpole looks as cute as ever in the new sweater.
gorgeous!!! I have a skein of some Swans Island that may need to become this! :-)
It turned out fantastic, Rue! I love how it drapes, and the color is beautiful. I'm definitely making another Citron, too.
It would be great to see you this Sunday! No need to RSVP, really -- it's a very low-key, drop-in affair. :-)
So pretty! Citron is definitely in my queue, but there's no telling when I'll get to it!
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