Love this. So does Susie. Waiting for yarn to arrive. Will work in Hand Maiden Flyss and Hand Maiden Sea Silk. I may need one for myself after hers so I bought 3 of the main colour, Flyss Wine. For the mix behind the roses I have enough apple blossom and rose garden Sea Silk left over from Water Lily for Susan’s. I am thinking Sea Silk Wild Flowers for the background for mine. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Still don’t have main colour and gold trim. So it is not really started but I like seeing all the colours together.

April 23: Received the wine Flyss. I find it is not as intense as shown in pic. (Actually all the Flyss colours are not at all as shown by Hand Maiden.) It is OK but I likely will not use it here. Not sure.

May 11: Received the Flaxen Silk Fine by Sweet Georgia in Cherry colour. It has much more colour saturation and I much prefer this to the Flyss Wine. I will use the Flyss on a lace top for myself and use the Flaxen SILK instead. Will still use the Flyss Gold and the SeaSilk Wildflowers and part of the Rosegarden left over in my stash. Who knew the colour was going to be such an issue. It is difficult to get intense colour saturation when dyeing non animal protein fibres. Anyway I finally have something to work with.

May 12: Have decided I will use smaller needles than suggested in pattern, and work a larger size to compensate. But which size…? Tried neck with 94 stitches, for 2nd largest size and it seemed small. Started again with 100 stitches and this seems fine. (On 3.25m needle)

For the record I am planning to use 3m. 3.25m and 3.5m needles rather than 3.5, 3.75m and 4m needles as suggested. I cannot bear the thought of this lovely fine yarn on such large needles.

As I go forward I many scale back to the 2nd largest size.

May 16: Do not like the pastel Hand Maiden Sea Silk colours with the strong red. I had one ball of Flyss Straw that I decided not to use in this project. Saturday I attacked it with some silk dye I have had, previously untouched, forever. Not bad for a first hand painted yarn. I may go at it one more time with some light blue to coax the yellow tone more toward green.
May 18: I am limited with various supplies and reluctant to risk the virus for sponge paint brushes etc. Made a turquoise wash and sponged over using a dish scrubbie sponge and wound up with a more green yarn I think.

May 24: Started again with stitches for largest size for neck band, plus an extra 4 so 104 stitches. At first set of increases I skipped 4 to compensate for 4 extra. My tension is about 8 stitches to inch compared to specified tension of 6 stitches per inch. With top down I have no clue as to how to calculate size.

May 25: Have about half of the yoke done and the colour is a bit startling but interesting. On sizing I think for the next increase set I will change to second largest size.
May 28: Moving along and looks OK. Still not sure if size will work but each size difference is 5 inches because each size dif is 2 X 1 repeat of 20 stitches so 40 stitches. Even my smaller tension of 8 stitches per inch means 5 inches. Will soon separate for sleeves and I guess I will have the big picture then.

Also this is not the sophisticated Wine and Roses I had envisioned, and not even wine coloured. Guess it is more of a Wild Rose. So changing name.

May 30: Good news is I finished yoke and it looks good. Bad news is it fits me so too big for Susan. I am going to rip out and reknit, probably using the size 6 instructions although still measuring and pondering.

June 1: Ripped out everything. Decided to work stitch count for size 6 as well as use smaller needles except for neck rib. Susan and I have large heads. I cast on 112 stitches with 3m and worked rib. I compensated for extra stitches at first set of all around increases to bring me back to stitch count for size 6. I stayed with 3m needle for the plain knitting after rib with CC2.

June 2: Worked first scroll leaf motif on 3.25m not 3.5 as first attempt. I prefer the look of knitting this time. Stitches are firm, crisp and colourwork well defined with smaller needle.
June 3: Decision time. At last increases before flower. Not sure of piece will be big enough if I use smaller needles and the fewer stitches for size 6…. All sizes in pattern were increased by two repeats or 40 stitches. I decided to stage a rebellion and picked up stitches for only one extra repeat. So I had 440 stitches or 22 flowers. I set them up so the BOR at back was between flowers, but the front had a flower front centre.

June 4: Seemed to work well enough and I think the sizing just may work out. Again, much prefer the texture this time. Finished the last scroll leaf and knit another 10 rounds so that yoke was 9.25” as this is given length for the size 38” bust, size 3. I had 446 stitches which I set up as 68 stitches on back left, 87 stitches on hold for left sleeve, 136 stitches for front, 87 on hold for right sleeve and 68 stitches for right back. (272 sts remain with sleeve sts aside) It appears I have a 39” bust which should work. To be clear, I worked the colour work with 3.25m and plain knitting with a 3m needle. Tension is tricky to measure in a circle but I think I am getting 7 stitches per inch in colour work with 3.25 and same for plain knitting with 3m needle.

June 5: Picked up 272 stitches in MC for rib in stocking st. This means no purl blips and I can also play put/take on first round without messing up k3/p3 rib. After about an inch of rib on 3m I realized I didn’t need the extra stitches picked up at underarm. I ripped out the rib. Picked up again with 2.75m needle, no extra underarm stitches. 272 stitches. I decreased 2 stitches on first round because 270 stitches divide evenly by 6. (k3,p3)
Worked about 1 1/2” of rib. Will switch to 2.5 closer to waist. Picked up a few extra stitches at underarms to go with my 87 stitches and decreased 6 stitches evenly around. My target size for upper arms was 135” and I thought I would have just over 14. Hopefully rib worked on 88 stitches will pull it in. Looks OK. Now it is simply TV knitting to work down in rib to bottom. Crosses my mind a two-colour lace edging at bottom might look interesting. As body is in rib there is no necessity for an edge to prevent rolling. We shall see when I get there.

June 11: Have about 5” of the 3/3 rib done. Going for 12 at least so it may take a little while.
June 18: This is parked by my TV chair. Now have 9.5” so it is coming. Maybe another week.
June 20: Must decide whether last inch or so in gold ir stay with red… (we decided gold)
June 22: Complete!

Final Measurements:
Length 24” +/- depending where on curved shoulder one measures
Bust: 38” I think, again measuring a half circle
Arms: Before cuff 14.25” 13” at cuff
Neck Opening: 22.5” (Deliberately large)

Notes about my ratings:
The pattern is beautiful, clever and well-written I think. My difficulties developed because of the change in tension for the yarns I used and my personal preference for a firm tension.

Yarns: Flyss colours as shown by Handmaiden are extremely misleading so I wound up with yarn not used for this project. Some I kept because it was nice yarn, even if not for this piece. Some I sent back because it was not pleasant at all. The outside fuzzy white quality of the protruding linen fibres do not show at all in the photos. I pulled out mega amounts of these fibers as I knit.

The Sweet Georgia Flaxen Silk Fine is lovely to work with and it looks like the on line photographs.