A Sense of Smug

Do you know that sense of satisfaction self satisfaction Smug that comes from the recognition that you got it right? “It” being the matching of yarn to pattern for the ultimate knitting synergy. Well, I have that Sense of Smug right now, and it’s coming at me from the Laminaria.

Laminaria. WIP-the-first
Laminaria. WIP-the-first

yarnyard1I am knitting it with Machair, a laceweight yarn from The Yarn Yard. Machair is a 2ply 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere yarn, offering 1,200 metres per 100g skein. The skein I am using for the Laminaria is a bright green – like tender Spring foliage. Possibly lettuce shoots.

Machair has a slight halo from the alpaca, but nothing loose to get up your nose as you knit. It is surprisingly strong, and crisp. In fact, it turns out to be  a  perfect pairing with the Star Stitch that I am currently knitting the top centre section of my shawl in. The two together are yielding a wonderful texture that is crisp-but-soft, and dense-but-light. How’s that? I have no idea, it’s just plain magic.

The dye job, as usual, is wonderful, with plenty of subtle shading to keep the work looking lively.

As for the pattern… well, the star stitch is a new on me and I am not yet fluid in its expression. Work is slow and concentrated, but this turns out to be just what I need at present. Knitting on the shawl excludes all worries and stress, while I focus entirely on one-into-three and three-into-three stitch formations.

What is excellent about this field stitch is that recognition of error comes swiftly, not several rows later.

What is not so excellent about the pattern is that it lacks row-by-row stitch counts. I geeked it. I made a spreadsheet. Now I know how many stitches I should have at any point. This is assisting the error-spotting process referenced above…

What is excellent about Machair is that it tinks extremely well! It gives really good stitch definition and does not tend to split. It is easy to read the stitches, and just as easy to unpick them where necessary. A fabulous yarn.

EDIT: Of course, you know what happened directly after I drafted this post last night, don’t you? Sufficient to say that the above photograph is several rows shorter thanI had anticipated it being. Do not tempt the Knitting Goddess. Let this be a lesson to you.