The Laura Leaves Tank

The "Laura Leaves Tank" is finished and published.  You can find it at:  ravelry.com

I did the test knit, and made the sample for my darling, daughter-in-law, Laura.  Doesn't she show it to perfection?

The sample was knit out of the Fyberspates - Scrumptious, found in my stash.  She is a tiny little thing, so it only took a little over 1 skein.  The yarn is a 4 ply Sport Weight, and is a dream to knit with.  I've gushed about this yarn, over and over again!

Lacy leaves compliment the front, along with a ribbed neckline, bottomband and armholes.  A twisted rib stitch was used to help the garment hold it's shape.

Easy waist shaping was added to the pattern, to keep it close to the body for a flattering fit.  If your waist isn't your best feature, the shaping can easily be omitted.

The neckline can easily be adjusted too.  For a lower cut, just make the straps longer.  To shorten the cut, just make the straps shorter.

The inspiration for this pattern was a tank my Mother owned.  Her's was knit completely in stockinette stitch.  As you can see here, the back of my tank is knit in stockinette stitch too, so if that is the look you prefer, forget about the lace leaf pattern and knit the entire thing in stockinette stitch.

The tank is knit in-the-round on circular needles, up to the armhole shaping, and the front and back are knit flat (separately) to the top of the neck ribbing.  The armhole ribbing is picked up and knit flat, then carefully seamed at the back shoulders.  It is a great pattern for learning lace knitting, easy waist shaping, and to read a knitting chart.

This is the hearth rug my husband made from the roving leftovers from our alpacas last year.  This roving came from Cocoa Bean.  The rug was made with a threaded crochet hook and a preformed grid mat.  The rug makes a great place to sit, when you need to warm by the fire, or when all of the other seats in our family room are taken.  The "home plate" shape allows the rug to wrap over the edge of the brick to protect clothing or stockings from snags.

The mill where we have our fleece processed, Crooked Fence Alpacas & Mill, started producing this really thick rug yarn this past year.  This rug was crocheted with a big hook.  It is really cushiony, and roving from many different colored alpacas gave the yarn this variegated coloring.  It appears that my feet are so big, that I cannot take a picture looking down, without getting them into the shot.

We just received our second shipment of alpaca yarn.  We have 9 animals now, so our shipment was much larger this year.  We had it all processed into worsted weight and the heavy rug yarn this time.  I'll have some pictures to post of the various colors a little later.

I'm off to Palm Springs for a little family girls trip next week.  It will be HOT, HOT, HOT, but I still have a knitting project planned for the ride and to work on poolside.  I am casting on a "Laura Leaves Tank" in a medium purple, this time for me.  My new knitting group will meet for the first time on August 2, so I should have lots to write about when I return.  Happy knitting . . . .