FO: Uncommon Vasa

   

This past June, while on working holiday with Mr Blake, I took a stroll down Camden Passage to visit the famous Loop London. He was in company meetings all day, so after sleeping off my jetlag and devouring a ham croissant in the lobby of the hotel, I set off on the train to check out the sights. It had rained the day before on my visit to the V&A, but the sky hadn't been too threatening that morning, so I skipped the umbrella and went on my merry way to Islington.

Loop, as promised, was like a fairy cottage stuffed with wool. I spent over an hour there, growing a little collection of yarn that I carried around like a puppy in my arms. (Gift yarn for friends! Gift yarn for me! When in London, amirite?!) Then, as I poked around in the laceweight section downstairs, an afternoon rainstorm rolled in, and I had to stay a little longer than I had planned. So I stood there with an armload of yarn as the rain tapped its knuckles across the glass, and I breathed in the smell of wool and wet cobblestone from the open door and thought: this must be what heaven feels like.

When the rain finally let up, I left, carrying two precious skeins of Viola Merino Fingering in Speckled Mist (a special colorway just for Loop's 10th anniversary) and a skein of The Uncommon Thread Tough Sock, all part of the devious plan that was a-brewin' in my noggin:

My friend Sara and I had been kicking around the idea of a little seasonal sweater knitalong, as a way to keep accountable on our sweater knitting and have some fun along the way. Vasa was our first pattern choice: a drapey, universally flattering top, designed by Dianna Walla, a talented designer and delightful human to boot.

The only problem with the whole thing was my lack of suitable yarn, which is hilarious considering how much yarn I actually own. (Hint: it's a lot.) But then, with a well-timed trip to Loop, and the exciting possibilities of knitting with gorgeous UK (and hard-to-find Canadian) yarns, my problem was solved!

A month or so later, I cast on, and it became my at-home movie knitting until recently, when I finally bound off and blocked the darn thing.

Did I make it in time for the season, friends? I did not. Did I end up with a beautiful and wearable garment that will always remind me of walking around London on a rainy afternoon? Yes indeed.

     

Good enough for me.

All the details, including my modifications, are on Ravelry here.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

<3

Cory