Pretty colours

Last year, we started stocking Botany Lace, Araucania's lovely merino lace yarn, and the new colours have just come into stock. There's some beautiful pinks and purples among them, as well as subtle greys and greens. It's a very versatile yarn. It's quite a heavy laceweight: we reckon that it would be possible to make a pair of very luxurious socks out of it (though just as with Malabrigo Sock, the lack of any nylon content might mean they wouldn't stand up to very hard wear). With the season for light garments coming up, a couple of hanks would make a very lovely cardigan or wrap - at 410 metres, a hank is a generous affair. Or you could do what Jacqui did as soon as she got her hands on some. This is an Ishbel shawl, Ysolda Teague's terribly popular pattern, and it takes just one hank. If you're looking for a first lace triangle, this has tempted many knitters into shawl knitting. The easy stocking stitch start and the straightforward lace border make it the ideal introduction - after all, 11,000 knitters can't be wrong! What's more, we've recently started stocking Ysolda's books, including Whimsical Little Knits, the one that contains Ishbel. Sadly, Jacqui's stunning colourway isn't part of this year's offering, but we have many others just as lovely. Why not drop in for a look?