My Ravelry favourites list is pretty full - I use it as a kind of shortlist for things I've seen and liked and may one day want to knit. Usually, a new project starts from there. When I began knitting, I made a conscious decision not to aquire a yarn stash. I learned from my sewing experiences, that you never have exactly what you need and if you do, it is unlikely to be in the correct amounts. So with knitting, I tend to select a pattern and then research my yarn options until I hit on a pattern/yarn combo pleasing enough to head to the shops.
But sometimes, I am in a yarn shop and see something that I lust after. If it is sock yarn, I go ahead and buy enough for a pair. I know what yardage I need, so there is no risk. Which is kind of how I justified a puchase of the first skein of Araucania Botany Lace. There it was, in my local knitting shop, in all its modestly priced, beautifully hued glory. So impulse purchased enough for a shawl. But when I came home and hit Ravelry, I discovered a prime vehicle for it, nestled in my favourites. And because I had bought it locally, I could nip back the next day for the extra yardage required. Folded by Veera Välimäki.

This photo makes it look as if one sleeve is two inches longer than the other. You'll have to trust me that it isn't. Must have put it on the dressform wonky.
There are acres of stockinette on 4mm needles in this pattern - a good thing I enjoy plain knitting as much as I do.
Not that this project didn't provide many learning points:
- Raglan shaping in the round
- Short rows for the neckline
- Knitted pleats
All new to me. Some head scratching moments and intense watching of You Tube tutorials - how did anyone learn to knit before the internet?

I am insanely pleased by the glorious drape of this yarn and also with the subtle interest provided by the pleats (even if they do look a bit holey at the top when examined closely. But I trust that nobody is going to be that eagle eyed around my bustline.

When it first came off the needles, the hem was rolling a bit, so I took my steam iron to it which sorted the curling in seconds. In fact, it was so successful, I went for it with the neck too. Big mistake, quite literally huge. The neck grew so much, I could have put the whole thing on by stepping into it. Disaster. So I hurriedly popped it into the washing machine on a wool cycle and mercifully it emerged back to normal. I dried it super carefully, flat on a towel to avoid any stretching while wet.
Given how much I could have made it grow by blocking, I wished I had gone down a size in the pattern. I am always so scared of turning out a too small garment, that I tend to err on the generous side. Not always the most flattering look. But it is wearable and the perfect weight for this inbetween season we seem rooted in - too cold for a tshirt, but too warm for a full sweater.
The cat seems very interested in it. He is partial to a spot of wool chewing at the best of times. But this particular knit seems to draw him like a magnet. Perhaps it's the power of orange attraction.