WIP: Ishbel Commission

This weekend, I was bad.  Instead of working on my religion paper like a good student, I stayed with my friend Ondrea at our mutual friend Sparkle's house to take care of her cats.  I got a ton of laundry done, ate some really great food (pizza with caramelized pears, onions, and gorgonzola cheese) and cast on for a commission I got a few weeks ago.  The pattern is the ubiquitous Ishbel, and the yarn is Artyarns Mohair Splash.  It's definitely more in the novelty category of yarns, and it's not the most fun to work with because of the multiple strands of yarn - there are quite a few knots, and the difference in the fibers makes it so certain strands get used up quicker than others, creating excess in one strand but not the others.  Annoying.  Also, the yarn label says to dry clean only, but that seems weird to me.  I washed my first Ishbel in the same yarn in cold water with some woolwash, and it didn't affect the yarn adversely at all.

I would also say, that although I really like Ishbel as a project, I don't like the increases at the sides.  I've found that the tension difference between yarnovers from knit to knit (where you move the yarn to the front as if to purl, then knit, creating a short excess of yarn) and knit to purl (where you have to bring the yarn to the front as if to purl, then loop the yarn around counterclockwise, which creates a longer excess of yarn than the other type) is enough to drive the perfectionist in me absolutely batshit crazy.  As an experiment, I've been skipping the yarnovers on the wrong side row, then picking up an extra yarnover on the right side row, which doesn't introduce as much wonky tension.

However, nitpicks aside, I would definitely still recommend both the yarn and the pattern.  The fabric is light as air, except for the little glimpses of bead and sequin that gives it a lovely drape and sparkle, and the pattern has a really nice balance of lace and stockinette.  I hope the recipient likes it.