at the very bottom of a dark, dark trunk...

there was ... a bag, and in the bag was, this



a crochet project I had forgotten all about, using Jaeger alpaca 4 ply, long since discontinued yet gorgeous, gorgeous stuff, and which had been and gone by the time our love affair with alpaca really kicked in. In the bag was the pattern, which is from RYC book 4 and is called holiday



Its a very simple crochet pattern.



You join each motif to the next to make strips then you join the strips together.



Its really effective and very, very pretty. And the yarn just turns it into something so sensuous. I think this will be a good project to take on holiday at the end of July. It will be very hot so little crochet squares could be just the thing.

I had been reading about Rowan's 30th anniversary recently, and finding this hidden pattern made me think about the earliest Rowan patterns I have knitted.

This is my earliest project that is still in existence



Its from Rowan number nine, it took me four years to make and I hated it from the moment it was finished. Mainly because of the shape, the armholes were at my elbows!
It now languishes in a bag in the attic, never to be thrown away because it took so long to make but never to be worn again!

A slightly earlier project that unfortunately is with us no more is this beauty from Rowan book seven



I wore and wore this little top to the extent that it eventually fell apart. From when I first saw this image in the pattern book, I believed when I wore a Rowan garment I would magically turn into this vision of perfection. I didn't of course, and I never even got the basket!

My very earliest project of all is from Rowan book four and it is in this photo of the perfect Rowan family



Can you guess which garment it would be?

That's right. The one the old bloke with the beard is wearing! The pattern came in two sizes, enormous and so big you could fit 6 people in it (it was a unisex pattern) and was a long, slow knit. I loved it, but rarely wore it as it was so big, heavy and hot. In the end an ex boyfriend benefited from it, and I regret it now - I wouldn't like to wear it, but I would love to still have it - however, I certainly won't be knitting it again, I must have had a lot more time on my hands in those days.

for now
Ruby xx