Experiment in Linen

I love knitting lace. I hate blocking shawls. If blocking was a one time deal, I would just do it. But, if I knit beautiful wool shawls they need to be blocked every time I wash them. Since I live in fear of moths, that would be often.

To further feed my reluctance to knit wool shawls, my family and friends don't want them for gifts. They don't want to hand wash and block a shawl, even if it is beautiful.

Now I have this wonderful new book, Stahman's Shawls and Scarves, full of lacey Faroese shawls. I want to knit every one of them.

After Fluffy Knitter Deb raved about knitting with linen - no blocking, throw it in the washer and dryer and it looks beautiful - I have to try it. That's how I ended up with the UPS man delivering this today.

Two 100 gram/580 yard cones of fingering weight, Euroflax linen in grey.

According to Louet Sales this yarn is machine washable and dryable. After washing, the "yarn will become very soft, with a beautiful, lustrous silky effect."

If all goes well and I have time, I'd like to have a shawl done to wear to my nephew's wedding the end of May. But this is not at the top of my project list, so I don't know if I'll make that deadline or not.

According to Deb, linen is challenging to knit because it's slippery and maintaining tension is difficult. She recommends using Inox Gray (Teflon) needles to help the situation.

I'm looking forward to having a swatch party with this yarn. But, for now, back to my FLAK sleeves.