Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Quirky Bird Knits Lady's Mantle from Knitter's Mercantile - Day 2


Whirled fleece...

It’s so fleecy! 

Really, there isn’t another way to describe it.  I work so often with spun, plied yarns that when I get my hands on something fluffy and fleecy like this it feels like I’m knitting clouds.  It’s the closest I’ll get to working with roving without stepping up to a spinning wheel.  And the stitches?  They’re sheer heaven--so much loft and not a hint of “the itchies.”

Despite the very long rows, things go quickly.  I won’t lie to you--it’s a LOT of purling, and when you’re not purling you’ve got to pay attention to your yarn-overs and your slipped stitches.  Still, there’s something to be said for long rows that require some brain power.  This would be downright mind-numbing if there was lots of garter stitch.  And I don’t think I’d care for this in a solid color yarn--you need the color change (more on how MUCH you need the color change later, by the way).

I chose to add a slip-stitch edge because I’m fond of the clean line that creates.  I confess the edges--switching from a two-stitch border to a three-stitch one--baffled me until I got a sense of how the repeats stacked up on top of each other.  It’s possible that my extending the garment is at the heart of that and you won’t have any trouble at all.

Still, I’m very pleased so far.  The texture is quite lovely and the color truly wonderful.  I think this one’s going to be a winner.

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