My sweet and wonderful FiascoHubs (do we like the new nickname? he will forever be a Fiasco… but now that he’s a husband rather than a fiance I’m wondering if it needs the ‘Hubs’ addition?) surprised me with ‘souvenir yarn’ over our wedding weekend.
He apparently went into the local yarn store and said something along the lines of “she likes crazy fiber, wild stuff like ox and quiviut, and she loves blues and seafoam greens” and he left with three skeins of that gorgeousness above. The yarn is a laceweight 50/50 yak/silk blend and it is divine. My fella did very well, but now what to make?
Copyright LachesisandCo. Click for pattern page.
The first thing that jumped to mind was The Mermaid’s Gift shawl designed by Tori Gurbisz. I’ve had this one queued for quite a while and I think the whole look and feel of this pattern would be perfect with the seafoam color of the yarn. My only reservation is that it would only use up a mere 400 yards while I have over 1200 yards of the yarn, but it would certainly be a great use of a single skein of luxurious laceweight you might have hanging around.
Copyright knitlab. Click for pattern page.
The next beauty that jumped to mind was the Seascape Stole designed by Kieran Foley. I’ve long admired the sinuous shifting lines of this stole, and it’s a free pattern on Knitty so that’s always a plus. My big reservation with this one is that the charts are rather large and unwieldy and I had hoped to take this project along on our honeymoon as travel knitting, so it might not be the best choice.
Copyright Kieran Foley. Click for pattern page.
Interestingly, the same designer has another sea-inspired stole that I greatly admire: High Seas. It sounds like this one has wrong side patterning and it on the trickier side, so it also might not make great travel knitting (though it is lovely).
Copyright joelle. Click for pattern page.
Moving on from the sea theme, we have the Echo Flower Shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen which is based on the Laminaria shawl designed by Elizabeth Freeman. This shawl is chock full of complex Estonian stitches but it is really, truly gorgeous. I imagine in my silky seafoam yarn it would be pretty incredible.
Copyright stebo79. Click for pattern page.
Even though the sample for Morgain by Stefanie Bolf is all ‘dark and moody’ I can’t help but picture it in my yarn and think it would be glorious. I love the way the lace patterning grows in length and width as it cascades across the shawl.
Copyright Strokkur. Click for pattern page.
This is a gorgeous variation (drapier yarn, larger needles, beads instead of nupps) of the Shallow Waters shawl designed by Mia Rinde. I imagine my version would look much like this one. The more I look at photos of this shawl, the higher it is creeping up my list! It incorporates the undulating lines I like so much with the almost gothic, peaked edging that I find very pretty on triangular shawls.
What would you knit with up to 1200 yards of yak/silk lusciousness? Do you have a favorite sea-inspired pattern? Please share in the comments below!
Woolen Diversions 
I’ve also got a skein of sea-inspired yarn and have long looked for a pattern to go with it. I’ve got the additional crazy idea of making it pool in a particular way, so I’ve only looked at stoles. Kieran Foley has been where I’ve looked. I’ve been leaning towards his MagicWaves.
Also, your Fiasco did a great job. I met the lady who sells that yarn and she is quite delightful. That yarn is like butter in your hands!
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Ooooh, the Magic Waves stole is great, too! How cool that you met the woman who sells the yarn. It sounds like it has a great backstory.
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Gorgeous yarn, your FiascoHubs did well. Hmm, what can you call him? I love Fiasco, but he does need a new title or something…
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This yarn looks so yummy. I thought of you, and it, immediately when I saw pages 40-41 in the Early Fall Vogue Knitting, which I just picked up Friday. A lovely little lace cardigan, which calls for three skeins, 1200 yards of yak/silk blend! Perfect!
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I will have to check that out, thanks!
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It might be a little harder than a lace shawl, but very pretty, I think. 🙂
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I like High Seas and Morgain best, but you’re right that they might not be great travel knitting. There are so many awesome sea inspired patterns out there; I’m sure you’ll find something!
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Shallow Waters/Sfumato is gorgeous and definitely gets my vote! If I personally had 1200 yards of beautiful, luxurious laceweight, though, I would knit another Nouveau Beaded Capelet ( http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nouveau-beaded-capelet ) – it was the most rewarding project I’ve ever worked, and even worked surprisingly well as travel knitting as long as one keeps careful track of beads and tiny crochet hook.
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Oooh, that is very regal-looking!
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