Thursday, July 08, 2010

Jada in Brown.

A shrug is something anyone can wear. Big, small, short, tall or even pregnant! It's like a great pair of shoes...it will always fit, even if you ate a little too much!
So what better than to knit to make yourself feel a little better?

jada in brown

Started: May 5, 2010
Finished: June 20, 2010
Yarn: Rowan Lenpur Linen. Colour 570 (brown). 9 skeins for the large.
Pattern: Jada by Sarah Hatton from The Lenpur Linen Collection.
Adjustments: None, knit as written. Do make note of the yardage required. Even though my gauge was correct and I was using the yarn it was written for, I ran out.

jada III

This was actually knit for a store sample...which will eventually come home to me. It's a little warm right now for me to wear anything other than a tank top. You can have a good look at it at Shall We Knit in New Hamburg.
I know I will get a lot of use out of it. I wear tanks all year long. Just throw this over a tank for fall, no problem. It will actually be great for breast feeding as well, offering a bit of privacy for the baby to eat;)

jada bacl

The pattern is well written. It has a simple lace stitch to it, which is easily memorized. It eventually turned into my mindless tv watching knit. The main piece is pretty large, like knitting a baby blanket that you sew up and add some ribbed cuffs and bands to.

The Lenpur Linen yarn is pretty interesting. It is 75% Lenpur and 25% Linen.
Linen we are pretty familiar with. Beautiful, durable...a luxurious fiber that keeps you cool in warm weather. It is a vegetable fiber, from flax, a bast fiber taken from the stalk of the plant. It is easily dyed and softens but doesn't loose colour when washed. Yes, it does wrinkle but it presses easily. Like cotton, it has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily.
Lenpur...is also a plant fiber. It comes from white fir wood. Yup, it is a cultivated wood fiber! It is surprisingly soft to the touch. Garments made of Lenpur are thermoregulatory, anti-odor and absorbent. Another perfect fiber for warm weather.
So what does this mean to the knitter? Well, this blend is perfect for spring and summer knits. The drape is wonderful, perfect for shrugs, shawls, scarves, wraps, summer shells, whatever! It knits ups really nicely. Although there is no elasticity, I didn't have a problems with my wrists or elbows like I sometimes do after knitting with cotton. The look of the fabric is much more luxurious than cotton. I sometimes avoid cotton because of that dishcloth look...you don't need to worry about that with Rowan's Lenpur Linen. The colours are nice deep hues and don't look faded.
The washing instructions are pretty specific:
Dry clean or hand wash in soapflakes; do not soak; cool rinse; do not wring; short spin; do not leave wet; reshape and dry flat away from sunlight; use a damp pressing cloth.
Ok, sounds like it is high maintenance. Well, I gave it a quick bath in eucalan, rolled it in a towel to get rid of most of the water and then reshaped it on my blocking board. I pinned it here and there to the measurements. Once dried it looked great. It softened up and actually looked freshly pressed...not crunchy. I did press out the fold line (it was folded in half on the blocking board) before photographing.

My only complaint is it sheds these little hair like fibers on you while you are knitting with it. I tend to wear white, so it was really visible on me. I'll let you know, now that it has been washed, if it does it with wear.
So, would I use this yarn again? Yes! Without hesitation.

By the way, thank you for all of your encouragement with the preganacy. I know that I am not the first woman in the world to be pregnant...every person that has ever lived came from a woman. It's kind of incredible if you think about it. Just look at the thousands of people you see in a day...they all came from a mother who carried them around for 40 weeks.
Some experiences are good and some are not. That is life...I know. Thank you for listening and for the empathy...I promise to stop complaining soon.

Like in 7 weeks, 3 days, four hours...;)

10 comments:

Sweetaimee81 said...

well it turned out lovely. I will have to look into the yarn it sounds great. I never put the arm issues togather with cotton but I have been knitting with lots of it latley and my right hand is asleep all the time lol. You look great!! Just enjoy all the things you get out of during pregnancy remember those lol no lifting no kitty litter your hubby will do things for you during this time you can never get other wise lol.

grumperina said...

Awww, look at you and your belly! You look beautiful! This Lenpur sounds very interesting... a little like bamboo, maybe, based on your description? Anything non-wool that I hadn't heard of yet is instantly interesting to me.

Monique said...

This is absolutely gorgeous on you! Ok, got to get over to Ravelry and put this on my list! ;)

Melinda said...

You just look simply beautiful!:)
Your shrug turned out great!

gudrun said...

i love it - and it looks great - i also want to knit it and the lenpur linen is lying next to me on my table...
i wish good luck for the birth of your child - and last year i looked like you and now my little son is 10 month old... lovely greetings - gudrun

Kara said...

So pretty!

Dolores said...

Gee, I never really thought of it that way - all the people I see walking around came from women who carried them in their wombs for 40 weeks - no small feat!

You're doing great and look wonderful, and I love your blog. You always have beautifully-done work that looks professional in every way!

Not too far to go for you now - hang in there!!

goodkarma said...

You look beautiful! I'm so behind in blogland, I didn't know you are pregnant. I hope you are well and feeling good... now I'll read back the last few posts to see what else I've been missing. :) Beautiful shrug, you wear it well!

Maryse said...

It's a beautiful shrug and looks beautiful on you! I did not realize that your pregancy was that advanced! Hope you are having a great summer so far!

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