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Some projects hold such a special spot in your heart and make you want to sing.
Amazing lace how sweet the yarn
that slipped on and off my hook.
In stitches gracefully crocheted to create
a wrap that is tops in my book.
Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest fan of lace weight yarn. I take that back. At this time, lace weight yarn isn’t my favorite weight to work with. Some of that is because I don’t have the time it takes to really savor and appreciate what goes in to a lace weight project.
But I recently made an exception.
A while back, I answered a call for “crocheters wanted” to do store samples for Yarnover Truck. They contacted me at the end of last year and asked if I could make one of their shop samples. I was delighted at the opportunity to have something I made displayed in their mobile shop. And, I was even more excited to play with some of their in-house hand dyed yarn.
If you’ve not heard of Yarnover Truck, I highly recommend checking them out! They are a mobile yarn shop (yes...you read that correctly) bringing gorgeous yarns to crocheters and knitters all over Southern California. Being in Illinois, I’ve not gotten a chance to visit their yarn shop on wheels, but I’ve been following them on Facebook and Instagram for some time. Owners Maridee Nelson and Barbra Pushies converted an old Little Debbie’s Truck into their mobile shop with shelves filled with amazingly luxurious yarns. Take a peak at their shop in this article from the LA Times.
When Maridee contacted me to make the sample, she gave me two choices of projects to do, and I couldn’t help but choose the lace weight because of the pattern they had in mind.
I was entranced with the yarn Maridee sent me to use. Their exclusive in-house YOT Lace is a divine single ply lace weight yarn.
They sent me the Marbled Gray colorway, a darker variegated yarn with subtle hints of purples and blues. It reminds me of the graceful shades you find in black mother of pearl. While it is lace weight yarn, the single ply nature gives it a little more body than most other lace weights. And yet, it has a delicate hand with a rustic look, and just a hint of a halo to it.
And can you say yardage?! One skein is a generous 800 yards, which was more than enough for my project. In fact, I was able to get another repeat out of the skein and I still have yarn left over.
Now...the pattern...
I was immediately taken with the Oswin by Bernadette Ambergen and its inclusion of many crochet elements and sideways construction.
The main body is solid crochet but the straight edge of the shawl is a checkered mesh reminiscent of granny square clusters. I dare you to check out the Ravelry listing and not get sucked in for at least 5 minutes simply looking at Bernadette’s pictures of her finished piece.
Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get started!
Bernadette's pattern includes both written and charted instructions. I'm a HUGE fan of crochet charts and was thankful that she included one with her design. It helped me maintain a good pace throughout the project. At one point, I had most of the repeats memorized.
I'm also a big fan of pineapple patterns, and love how this one comes together row by row to create that delicate lacy edge. I've heard some say that they're nervous to try pineapple patterns (I had been one of those people years ago), but let me ease any apprehensions. If you can chain, single crochet, double crochet, and...well...count, you can do a pineapple pattern.
Patterns using sideways construction are a blast to make. The longest rows are in the center so when you get past the half-way point, the rows get quicker to stitch again. I love how the Oswin has two different edges worked up at the same time. The checkered cluster edge is straight and is worn at the neck so the pineapples can delicately hang from the solid body of the shawl.
The YOT Lace is a perfect match for this pattern. I wasn't sure how the variegated nature of the colorway would turn out but I love those bits of color that come through the purple-gray tones.
The magic that is crocheted lace comes out with blocking. This yarn took to soaking very well and it was easy to pin out. The stitches opened up beautifully and I couldn't wait to get it off the pins.
The Oswin is definitely one that I'd like to make again, either with YOT Lace or even with a heavier weight yarn. A DK weight, maybe, with less repeats would make a stunning scarf.
A big THANK YOU to both Maridee and Barbra from Yarnover Truck for letting me play with their fun in-house yarn. And a big BRAVO to Bernadette Ambergen for creating this gorgeous design. I've bookmarked a number of her other patterns as well (and I know all of you will, too, because WOW!).