I looked up the name of the shade of the yarn and it’s means ‘dregs’ or ‘waste’ in Spanish, which sounds a bit miserable. The colour in fact makes me think of volcanic rock, hence the project name, particularly reminding me of the volcanic rock beaches in the Canaries (I have a doorstop of this material from one such beach - at El Cotillo, Fuerteventura, one of our favourite beaches).

The shade is amazing really, shifting from almost black to slate grey and rust. It does say to alternate the skeins, but I don’t really enjoy knitting that way, so I’m just going for it. There is a visible change, but I’m quite happy with that.

Mods: as per the pattern, but no stripes. I’m knitting a ribbed bottom with a split side, back longer than the front; the sleeves with similar ribbed cuffs. Neckline: I’ve picked up 5 sts for every 6, across the back neck too, as this turned out too loose with every st picked up.

Yardage: I had calculated that I would need 4 skeins to knit this, but even altering the hemline and knitting the whole thing longer in the body/sleeves, I didn’t need the 4th skein. I used a few yards short of 3 whole skeins.

NB: when you wash this yarn, it goes incredibly soft and stretchy. I’ve blocked it flat into shape (as much as possible - it was like handling a slithery snake), then finished it off on a low setting in the drier. It’s come out perfectly, size and texture-wise.

A bit too warm to wear today, but this will be a favourite come autumn, I have no doubt. A great free pattern (thanks, Isabell!) which I will knit again; I especially like it with this split hem, and I LOVE the neckline.

sweater #19 2016