As before, a pleasure to knit. This one was a commission, brought on by the loan of my ruana, Graceful,Graceful Me, to another guest during an al fresco post-Thanksgiving vineyard dinner. Yes, it did get a bit colder as the evening progressed. One person in particular was freezing, despite the wine.

This just goes to prove the old adage, knitters: Never leave home without your handknits!

The CE Liberty Wool optimistically identifies itself as a worsted weight yarn - it is a DK weight at best. The yarn classifications might better be left to the knitters of the organization, not the bean counters. That said, it is a workhorse yarn, and is available in both solids and a wide array of prints done up in surprising colorways. This is where the fun begins.

This ruana was loosely designed using the organizing principle of alternating cool color and warm color bands. The skeins of yarn were chosen on eye appeal alone, with a few solid color skeins in a beguiling inky blue. I was glad to have a dark solid, as a double strand was used to finish the neckline edge in an attached I-cord binding. Using a long color change yarn here would have distracted from the overall striae effect of the garment - the inky blue color does not attract attention.

Finished gauge: 14 sts x 24 rows = 4” on #5 needles. The Liberty Wool ball band says, “5 sts/inch on size US 7 (4.5 mm) needles.” I am mystified as to how a needle two sizes larger would yield a denser fabric 20 sts = 4” when knit up. Really, this should NOT be advertised as a worsted weight yarn. I wonder if it was not the ‘Liberty Light’ that was mislabeled.