It is Linen and Lace Season! 

I have two Iinen projects going — one is a simple open cardigan with 3/4 sleeves done in a classy marled laceweight yarn.  Fine gauge stockinette — millions and millions of stitches!  But it is exactly the sort of sweater I wear all the time in warmer weather!  And it is nearly mindless knitting (it is always useful to have a mindless knitting project close at hand).

My other linen knitting is at the opposite end of the gauge spectrum:  a linen tape knit on US 11 needles!  It is a way-oversized pull-over with a lovely shale lace panel down the middle of the front and back — surrounded by stockinette.  A faster knit for sure!

Both pieces have the same function: something to wear over a tank top in warm weather.  

I love linen.  It is not a tame fiber to knit — it is lively and like to jump off the needles.  It is a little more effort to knit — kind of like molding clay.  Animal fibers seem to loop up naturally when being knit while plant fibers are more "You want me to do what?! Okay, but hey let's grow tall and wave in the wind…yes? No? Okay….". You have to wrangle linen yarn.

My lace project is my Baseball Shawl (go M's!)

It doesn't look like much now because it is all scrunched up on the needles, but it is coming along nicely.  The two lace patterns I am using are baseball-inspired: one is diamonds and the other resembles the stitching on a baseball (clever, no?).  This will be the same shape and size as my favorite shawlette — which I wear almost every evening.  It is kind of a kick to knit on this shawl while watching the Mariners play and I look forward to wearing it when they play in the postseason this Fall!  Yeah, that's right! Go M's!  This is the year!!