the verdict...

 Have you ever had a cotton knit sweater that seemed to get heavier and heavier as you wear it and it is actually stretching and lengthening, growing in size? Well, that never happened!
I told you I was taking Lipstick & Smoke with me to Ireland. I did and I was so glad to have it. I wore it on the plane for several reasons. I was trying to pack light and it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase and I knew it would be nice and cozy for the flight. When I travel, I always take a longer cardigan that I can use as a dressing gown and, if there were cooler evenings, I knew I could wear it as a coat. I wore it so much over the three weeks, my sister was probably sick of looking at it but she never said! I kept waiting for it to stretch out but it never did. Even coming back to Toronto where it can be dreadfully hot, it still didn’t and with all that wear and not being washed for so long, it still looked great! AND, not a pillball in sight!
Impressed is what I am with Cotton Tale 8 and I’ve already placed another order for my next project – I’ve asked for 6 shades of blue – even with the printed-out shade card it’s hard to know what exactly you’re going to get and I want two or three shades that go together for my next long cardigan and I know I’ll use the other colours for something! I made a couple of trial swatches yesterday – I’m looking for textured stripes, maybe alternating knit side and purl side. The bands will be rib-look, with 3 knit stitches alternating with a tuck rib that will widen it out to match the width  of the lace stitches…