The Finished Poncho.

Which is really the story of how this

became this!

I finished the knitting on Sunday night (stockinette is great for World Cup matches!) I had a big rectangle of linen that looked kind of like a mess (that's the top photo above).

Monday morning I wove in the ends - there were just a couple that happened mid-row. I always join yarn mid-row if the edge will show. It's so much easier to hide the ends that way. I split the linen into 3 pieces and threaded each piece onto a sharp needle and buried that end into the wrong-side purl bumps.

Then I gave the piece a soak in cool water for about 30 minutes, patted out some of the water and proceeded to block it. I threaded wires through all four sides of the piece, stretched it into a rectangle and pinned the wires to hold it all in place.

I was delighted that the stitches really did even out!

It took just a few hours to dry. Then onto the seaming. For once I wasn't putting that part off - it is only 13 inches! I laid the piece out with the cast-on edge to my right and the bind-off edge to my left. I used a one-stitch seam allowance on the right edge and a 1-1/2 stitch allowance on the left edge.

See how the V's line up!

I had a few more ends to bury in the seam and then it was done. I am thrilled with the finished piece! The linen is so light and airy it's almost transparent.

And the drape is perfect.

Note that I didn't use that fifth skein and I had about half of the fourth leftover. For more details, check out my project page on Ravelry.

Quince & Co Linen | Project Inspiration.

Just in time for - our admittedly a bit belated! - Spring - we are so very pleased that our first shipment of Quince & Company linen has arrived! We are now stocking both Sparrow and Kestrel...in all the colors (of course!)

Both yarns are 100% organic linen, and like your favorite woven linen garments, they'll get softer and drapier with wear. Sparrow is a multi-ply sport-weight (recommending 6 stitches per inch on a size 3 needle), similar to Euroflax and Claudia's Hand-painted Linen. But the color palette is softer and more...organic.

Sparrow in Juniper and Birch

Kestrel is a flattened, chain-stitch tube that knits up to an aran to chunky gauge (recommending 4 to 3.75 stitches per inch on a size 9 to 10-1/2 needle). It reminds me of Shibui Linen, but bigger (much bigger!)

Kestrel in Rosehip and Senza

Quince & Company has plenty of pattern support for Sparrow, including Hannah Fettig's Knitbot Linen from last spring. This yarn is also suggested for two of our newest favorite designs - Bristol Ivy's Linum Tee (from Spring 2014 Interweave Knits) and Jamie Thomas' Meander (just released last week).

Kestrel is new this season and Quince & Company has released a five-pattern collection of simple sweaters and a cowl. But if you'd like to dip your toes into a smaller project, how about the Churchmouse Diagonal Lace Scarf & Wrap . I cast on the wrap-sized version  myself Sunday evening and I'm thrilled with the quick progress I'm getting with 42 stitches on size 11 needles!

A few inches into the 2nd ball...it's already more than 16" long!

And stay tuned for a tutorial on how to turn this project into the perfect social knit...once you know how to read your knitting, it's a piece of cake!