Sundara and Lace

I've been meaning to show you this for ages - my first sundara aran silky merino hand dyed yarn called Spiced. Having drooled at the website, read about others attempts to buy anything from the limited edition (sold out in two mins!!), I decided to go the more conventional route and buy from the normal range on the website. This was my treat for not being very well this last month so I don't feel guilty, no, not really.....;-))

As it's only 100gms (200yds), it's a little small for most projects. Being 50% silk and 50% merino, it will also be very soft and prone to bobbling/pilling. I don't have anything in mind for it yet so it can sit in my stash for me to sigh over its loveliness for a while. If you want to have a look at Sundara's range check out her new updated website here. She doesn't always have a lot in stock - as it goes very quickly - but she delivers quickly and is good on the communications side.

I've also been looking for patterns on Ravelry and I keep picking patterns that come from this book - Lace Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd. So I decided to get it and have a look. It's always hard buying books online when you can't see inside them. I usually go into the library or the bookshops to have a peek and then buy them on Amazon if they're any good. But I took a risk on this as I've not been about much at the moment.

Tailored Scallops by Pam Allen

I always get disappointed with knitting books and magazines. There is always an overdependance on traditional forms and ill-fitting ones at that so I was keeping my hopes modestly low with this one. "As long as there are a few patterns I like and feel it is worth owning then I'll be happy." I thought desperately as it came through the post....

Actually, it is a very well balanced book that, yes, has a few less well-shaped garments, but it has a nice range of hats, shrugs, shawls, tops etc. to keep everyone happy. It does lean towards more traditional forms but there are nice touches of retro feel such as the 'Katherine Hepburn cardigan' and the 'Greta Garbo garden hat' which give a more glamorous feel.

Little Silk Shrug by Pam Allen

The scallops and this little shrug have jumped out at me the most so far but this tends to be a book that when you dip back in again, you see more details and aspects than before and patterns grow on you - like this shawl...

Lily of the Valley Shawl by Nancy Bush

I always like the shawls but never actually get round to knitting them because I get bored really quickly and shawls are a definite dedication of time and are usually in so fine a guage that it takes forever to knit an even an inch. Just look at the close-up detail of the pattern:-((
Forever I tell you!

Close-up of the lace pattern

Well, I can look and 'think' about one day knitting it for a special occasion - but maybe I should start now as it'll take me so long - knit, knit, bored now....