Purple Basil

This shawl has actually been done for quite some time now. I know, I'm terrible at actually getting the photos taken, and then writing about it. But I can assure you, I have been really enjoying it! I grab for it often, and get several compliments :)

This is another line break by Veera Valimaki.  I knit my first line break back in 2014. My sister loved it, so she and I traded for it :) I snagged a pretty shawl that she knitted! :)

At any rate, I had some leftover tosh merino light in charcoal, that I wanted to use in my second line break. I also had planned to use every last bit of the  two skeins of purple basil. ..... and I'm SO glad I did! I love the outcome! And the bonus is that I used up ALL of the yarn! horray!

One thing that I was incredibly nervous about is the amount of bleeding from this yarn when I blocked it. It didn't bleed on me while I was knitting, so that's a good start. However, having friends who also dye yarn and have a few tricks up their sleeve on how to help from keeping the purple basil bleeding into the charcoal comes in handy too. Here's lookin' at you, Chantel!

I ended up using color blockers. Four sheets of them actually! These look just like dryer sheets, but you throw them in the tub (or sink) along with your knitting, and they grab hold of the dye.  The link sends  you to amazon, but I believe you can get them in places like London Drugs as well. Just look for them in the laundry aisle. I am certainly happy I did this, because there was SO much purple in the water. The color blockers did a fantastic job though! -- The charocal does have hints of pink to it now, but I don't mind it at all, and it makes for a very pretty shawl. :)

So here's the breakdown:

pattern: Line Break by Veera Valimaki
needle: US 3/3.25mm fixed circular Signature needles.
yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light - 2x skeins purple basil, (840yds) & only 30grams of the charcoal.

This pattern really is a pleasure to knit. There's not much thought required to keep track, but it's still interesting enough to keep you from being bored of knitting for over 800 yds :) Of course, I'm certain this won't be the last time I knit anything from Veera.

My photos aren't the greatest, and I find this colour impossible to capture.. But I also have to admit that I don't tend to spend enough time on photos... probably because I'd rather be knitting :) Trust me though, it's a very pretty shawl. xo

What do you have on your needles? xo