Blogged in detail here!

YARN REVIEW:
This is the easiest review ever, because I LOVED IT. It is my favorite yarn from the whole Rowan year, maybe the last 2 years! It may feel firm when it’s in the ball in the store, but it is so soft when you knit it you will not recognize it as linen. Since making this top, I have been making a bag with Quince & Co.’s 100% linen Sparrow yarn. After a few hours, I simply must put the knitting down, because my fingers feel raw, even though the fabric is lovely. I would have to knit a lifetime before I felt that with Pure Linen, seriously. Also, I must say, the shine is impressive -- like a flaxen-haired maiden from a fairy tale.

The yarn is loosely spun and quite thick and voluminous, and so it can handle many gauges beautifully. With the softness comes some delicacy however. I don’t mean this stuff will break… once I was left without scissors and my teeth could not rescue me, it is definitely strong! But, because of the softness and spin, fibers will come off easily and small hairs will wisp away. I found that blocking tamed a lot of these fibers. In fact, this was the most satisfying blocking experience I’ve ever had… when I lifted the pieces they were like pristine sheets of cardboard, go linen!

May 18, 2014: A nice and quick one month project! So, I tried it on and hated it. The front looked messy, the collar choked me because of the weight of the two overlapping back pieces. So, I turned the whole thing around… and it fit PERFECTLY! Woohoo! Love the look.

RECOMMENDATION: If I were to do this again, I would do the sleeves in the round, the seams are not pretty in such a loose gauge.

Also, if you are going to use M1s to increase the backs (fronts for me), make sure to yarn-over in the row before so you don’t make too tight of a hem. I have a blog post here that shows photos of how to do that.

April 21, 2014: I wanted to try out the new Rowan Pure Linen, and was impressed that this stylish open-back pattern only needed 4 balls. This is a good thing (wallet) and a bad thing (it’s knit at a loose gauge and looks messy). I’ve decided to embrace the messiness… but I can see that I have large swaths of rows that are somewhat normal, and then areas that are really wonky. Mood? Yarn? Not sure.

Really like working with the yarn. It’s my first time with 100% linen, and this one is far softer than other pure linen yarns I’ve touched, like Euroflax.

I wanted negative ease so went to the smallest size. However I didn’t start the shaping until after the instructions for the M (36-38).

I started this project because I needed something really easy to do at the nordic spa Strom in Montreal. But OOPS, these are US 10.5 Addis and they are SO LOUD to knit with! So we’d come out of the sauna, and then an ice-cold dip to the “relaxation room” with flute-y New Age tunes playing softly… and CLICK-CLICK, CLICK-CLICK went I. :)

intswemodo2014#6