Stole Happy

I’ve been on a stole kick lately. Seems like such a great convertible type of project – use it as a wrap with a sleeveless dress or top, or if you just aren’t feeling that fancy, bunch it up as a scarf! One of my recent stole knits is The Pebbly Lace Mesh Wrap by Krista Werbil. I wanted to wear this with that red strapless dress on a fall cruise. Besides one glaring mistake in the lace to keep me humble, I was happy with my work, but it’s no surprise that I found knitting with black laceweight yarn um… challenging. Okay, I was honestly ready to throw the dumb thing out the window a couple of times. The pattern is simple and straight forward, but struggling with that slippery, difficult to see yarn really tried both my eyesight and my patience. I felt pretty fed up with the entire project - until blocking. I’ve decided that the blocking of lace is absolute magic. When I took this difficult little black tangle off the blocking wires, it was transformed into a wispy piece of heaven that settled light as a feather on my shoulders. This one was truly worth all the trouble.

I wrote about my next stole, or at least the yarn for the stole, once before in A Cast On Quandary – What Would You Do? posted last January. The comments indicated that Juno Regina by Mirium Felton was the most popular pattern for that scrumptious handspun so I dutifully cast it on, and knit – and knit – and knit some more. Those lace ends work up super quickly, which gives you confidence that you’ll be able to whip this project right out, but that 40+ inch piece in the middle requires a little more devotion and persistence. If you’re willing to tuck it in your workbasket and take it on as a longer term project, this pattern will reward you handsomely with a versatile accessory. As a scarf or a stole, paired with a dress or a tee shirt, my handspun Juno is already a favorite.

I really do plan on weaving in that loose end.

Eventually.

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