Sorrel

Here she (he? it?) is: Sorrel from the Rowan Magazine No. 40. I love the names they give their designs but sometimes I wonder where they get them. The example in the mag is black and white so they can't mean sorrel as in a chestnut-colored horse. Is it the herb? But that is green. You can make a drink from the sorrel flowers which is a fruity red. Maybe the name has nothing to do with anything. Anyway the design is by Sarah Hatton. I love the cowl neckline and the quirky ribbing pattern, just two reverse rows of purl and knit in a stockinette stitch background. The sleeves and the collar are entirely of this pattern.

The yarn is tapestry by Rowan. I chose color 175 Moorland, a blend of soft grays and tans that looks great with jeans. This yarn which I have blogged about before is 70% wool and 30% soybean! Weird. It's a little scratchy but it drapes very nicely and since the pattern calls for a tank top underneath, you don't feel the yarn that much. The mag does show the pattern in a different color being worn by non-models and without the tank top and I have to say the front neckline comes dangerously low. Too risqué for me. The yarn is also one-ply which caused trouble with my very pointy Options Needles and also created some problems when doing the final sewing up. If I wasn't careful, the yarn just separated and broke.

I followed the pattern pretty exactly except for tacking the collar down in three places so that it curls out the way I want it to. I didn't find any errors which is nice and I have finally gotten used to the British way (or maybe just the Rowan way) of saying things like "Dec 1 st at neck edge of 2nd and foll 2 alt rows, then on 6 foll 4th rows, then on 1 foll 6th row and at the same time..." Aaaagh! I found it to be very helpful to work this out on paper in advance. Then I just check off the rows as I work them.

It took a year to get this finished because, while I started it last February, I set it aside after almost completing the back because I got interested in other things and I didn't feel like working on wool over the summer. It's so nice to have it done-done and to be able to clear off my coffee table even though I know that will only be a temporary thing!