After my recent successes with knitting, I decided to move on to something a bit more ambitious. I found this gorgeous extra fine 4-ply while on a trip to Edinburgh last year, by a company called Artesano. I bought a few balls with absolutely no idea what I would do with it - I just liked it too much to pass by. I tried a few attempts at some gloves, but it wasn't really right; it's an Alpaca wool, and and therefore a bit 'hairy' and hard to work with on fine needles.
After a few tension tests, I realised it would knit up the same as a 2 or 3-ply. Woo hoo! That meant I could make up one of my many vintage patterns. I decided on this beauty (the one on the top left) because it didn't seem too difficult:
Progress has been good so far - it's pretty quick to knit up, and there is a lovely lace pattern around the neck.
The work looks really narrow on the needles - I was worried it would be too small and all my efforts would go to waste! - but the design is such that it stretches around the figure.
And make sure you check out Artesano. According to their website, they are a small family business, who support socially conscious wholesalers, which is cool. They even have some free patterns to download on their website, one of which has a Scandinavian feel:
If I get time, I might actually knit this in tribute to my favourite program, 'The Killing'!
