Helter skelter in the summer swelter…

The shimmering heat haze of a flaming June is upon us here in the UK. So at the weekend I actually managed to christen a knit which I finished about a month ago, ahead of schedule. It’s been waiting patiently, biding its time for the weather to warm up.

 

Voila!- one lacy corset-inspired top is knitted in a  yarn called Lara, a sport-weight  mercerized cotton by Elann, in the glorious colour that is Turkish Blue. Although the actual pattern suggests using an Alpaca/Silk yarn, the cotton seems to have worked out well. The only problem is that cotton doesn’t block out or stretch as much as wool. I forgot that, and after a meal I kind of wish I’d knitted a size up… I aslo can’t decide whether to add buttons down the neck opening or not. I think I might kind of like the “keyhole” gap that’s there at the moment…

The pattern is Delphine (although I like to call mine Delphine-um) by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes, from her book French Girl Knits.

 

Kristeen’s book is a treasure. Sometimes buying a book of knitting patterns can be a bit of a disappointment, when you open it to find there’s only a couple of patterns you would actually knit, or you have an uneasy feeling that pieces will quickly look dated. But French Girl Knits is full of carefully thought out chic timeless designs, all of which I want to knit. Kristeen’s lovely introductory passages to each section of the book rekindle all my Francophilia, with thoughts of walks by the Seine and picnics in Provence. The book also contains sections on the more advanced techniques used in some of the patterns, which makes it a helpful reference source- such as a section on top-down seamless set-in sleeve construction. (Try saying that fast after a Gin and Tonic or three!)