My sister recently visited Ireland and upon her return I had a surprise in my mailbox! A lovely little skein of yarn. She apologized that - due to lack of space in her luggage - she could only get one skein. But when I looked it up on the amazing resource that is Ravelry, I found that one skein of this lovely yarn will make an entire shawl! Score!
I am in love with the history of this yarn mill. I mean, look at the label. Since 1204??? WOW! Not something you could even possibly see in America! So yeah... maybe it's just the American in me - but that is impressive!
The yarn itself is a sturdy little boucle. A very nice camel color - they call it Barley - it's comprised of 70% mohair and 30% wool. This is a much 'hardier' yarn than I would typically choose out for myself. I like the SUPER soft yarns. And this is not that. It's lovely to look at but has a fairly coarse texture straight off the skein.
However, I have just washed and blocked out my shawl and feel that the yarn has loosened and softened quite a bit. I washed it with a product containing tea tree oil and lavender oil and the silkiness of the oil seems to really be helping the texture. Now I am anxiously awaiting it to dry completely so I can assess the final product!
I chose to design a simple asymmetrical shawl with the yarn. Because it is boucle - I kept the stitches simple and just worked garter throughout the project. Wide at one end and narrowing down to a point at the other end - the shawl is a fun, modern piece to throw on in any number of different ways.
Because the yarn is so sturdy - and boucle - it has a TON of body to it and keeps its shape spectacularly. So you can really style your look and know that it will stay where you put it!
I've been 'holding' this post because I was going to put all my photos with it. BUT we are apparently having monsoon season in Oklahoma lately and I haven't been able to get a decent day for photographing anything! So I am finally giving up and posting this for you -- since it has been forever since my last post! Photos of the finished shawl (and pattern) to come soon! Fingers crossed!
I am in love with the history of this yarn mill. I mean, look at the label. Since 1204??? WOW! Not something you could even possibly see in America! So yeah... maybe it's just the American in me - but that is impressive!
The yarn itself is a sturdy little boucle. A very nice camel color - they call it Barley - it's comprised of 70% mohair and 30% wool. This is a much 'hardier' yarn than I would typically choose out for myself. I like the SUPER soft yarns. And this is not that. It's lovely to look at but has a fairly coarse texture straight off the skein.
However, I have just washed and blocked out my shawl and feel that the yarn has loosened and softened quite a bit. I washed it with a product containing tea tree oil and lavender oil and the silkiness of the oil seems to really be helping the texture. Now I am anxiously awaiting it to dry completely so I can assess the final product!
I chose to design a simple asymmetrical shawl with the yarn. Because it is boucle - I kept the stitches simple and just worked garter throughout the project. Wide at one end and narrowing down to a point at the other end - the shawl is a fun, modern piece to throw on in any number of different ways.
Because the yarn is so sturdy - and boucle - it has a TON of body to it and keeps its shape spectacularly. So you can really style your look and know that it will stay where you put it!
I've been 'holding' this post because I was going to put all my photos with it. BUT we are apparently having monsoon season in Oklahoma lately and I haven't been able to get a decent day for photographing anything! So I am finally giving up and posting this for you -- since it has been forever since my last post! Photos of the finished shawl (and pattern) to come soon! Fingers crossed!
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