Himani Stole - Cover of The Knitter 45

ETA:  more photos added.

I was thrilled on Friday when I received the first tweet saying that my design was on the cover of the new issue of The Knitter (issue 45 (Rav link) - in the shops soon). That's 2 covers this month (the other one is Let's Knit which you can see if you scroll down a bit).

Himani (rav link) is a gorgeous lacy stole worked in the equally gorgeous Manos del Uruguay Serena. The stole is worked in one piece from one short edge to the other and is fairly easy. Perfect first lace project. The stole takes 4 skeins of Serena and I've already had e-mails asking if it's really only 4 skeins. The great thing about lace is that it does stretch a lot during the blocking process which means you use less yarn than it looks. I'm always telling knitters at shows that lace knitting is good value for money and this is a perfect example.

This stole was knitted by The Craftie Pixie who did a great job as usual.

I don't normally use yarns thicker than 4ply for lace shawls but Serena is such a light, gorgeous blend which creates a lightweight fabric with amazing drape. This will be perfect for wrapping around your shoulders on a chilly summer evening or even when relaxing with your knitting during the winter months.

Looking at that shawl and thinking you'd love to improve your lace knitting? I'm teaching Lace Improvers at Spin A Yarn tomorrow (Tuesday 15 May) and on Saturday 19 May at Purlescence in Oxfordshire. On 12 June I'll be teaching 'Design a lace shawl' at Spin A Yarn which is perfect for knitters who've done a bit of lace knitting and fancy having a go at designing their own. You don't have to be an aspiring professional designer to do this course, although if you are then ofcourse it'll be perfect for you too.