'No sheep for you' review (picture heavy).

Loving this book! There are several things I'd like to try, which I'll discuss here.

Kristi Porter's silk modular top, 'Intoxicating', is a brilliant way to use silk in a garment. This uses Curious Creek fibers Isalo, a DK weight single, using 2 different modular patterns to create both beauty (particularly the wonderful maze mosaic pattern shown in green and orange here) and solidity. Having made the Angelica tunic out of hipknits silk, also a single but this time aran weight, I can testify that it stretches and loses its shape VERY QUICKLY, so I think this is a fabulous idea. (Modular knitting means knitting with only one colour in a row, and slipping the other colour where needed for the pattern on that row, so that 2 rows work togather. A crappy explanation, there are many better!) Unfortunately, the Curious Creek Fibers is $49US per skein, of which I would need 5. Hmmm. That's £125. Before shiping or tax. Don't think so. I shall keep my eyes open here - at Wonderwool, and maybe I will go to the Woolfest after all... if I've had no joy up till then, anyway. Unusually, I would like to stick fairly closely to this colourway.

I wonder if I could re-jig it for this hipknits - which would need overdyeing (the pale orange to be a richer, ruddy orange and also if poss a purple -separate skeins! - and perhaps increase the green-ness of the blue/green skeins as the base colour. not at all sure, though.

I also like Jillian Moreno's Eileen, though it wouldn't suit me (maybe C, show off her back tats. Might need a plainer (butcher!) lace stitch for her to feel comfortable, though!) That's in linen, which I haven't tried. The manly maze is a pleasant hemp jumper. I prefer the He Gansey by Jeanine Sims, though (dislike the wet-looking she-gansey, though). I might adapt some of the pattern to use for JKD's project 'denim' jacket out of aran weight, indigo dyed House of Hemp hemp. (JKD is my bro). If the drunken Argyle weren't in the dreaded PALE PINKS I might quite like that too... Tomato is nice enough, quite fun, though I'm really not sure about using a worsted weight cotton - so heavy. Then there's Peerie Fleur, by Zoe Valette. Not sure about the speciifics, but I like the idea of using Summer Tweed and being able to steek it! There's a skill I've yet to try!

I don't think I'll make Morrigan - impressive, not surprising as it's by the Rogue and Eris designer Girlfromauntie , but for me a bit over-complex. I'd like to see it in person! I'm also rather dubious about the socks in Rowan 4ply cotton - but may have to try them. The Wick isn't available here, if it were, I'd try it.

The thing I've started, though, is the 'Tuscany' shawl by Amy Singer herself. It's a bit obsessive, as shawls usually are. I know I said just a week or two ago that I don't like triangular shawls - but this one is very shallow, in that it's width (arm to arm, sort-of) is three times it's height, and I rather like this. it's a stash burner too - using some bronze Jaeger 4ply silk I've had for years since I found it reduced somewhere. I might overdye it to make it a little more bricky, we'll see.