I had finished my new poncho a while ago, I just hadn't gotten around to putting it into rotation with the things I love to wear. Well fortunately just before my holiday, my older sheer poncho in blue (you've probably seen it at shows) finally gave up the ghost and became unwearable. I knew this was coming for some time... I'd had it a while and it only cost me £5, so I hadn't expected great things when i bought it... but I loved it anyway. It was machine knitted in some far away country and was languishing in a 'sale' box when I came across it. It was a hot sunny day and my shoulders were burning... '£5!' I exclaimed, 'that's mine!' I promptly purchased it and started to wear it regularly on sunny days. It was the perfect amount of cover, but yet still breathable. You can imagine my horror to take it from the washing machine one day and see it starting to bobble and stretch out and I knew it was not long for this world. So I set about finding some yarn and thinking about how to construct a new one.
Firstly I found the yarn... Rita at Yarn Hollow had a sale on some time ago and I had purchased a few skeins. I had completed my Watergarden Shrug in one of the yarns I had bought and was left with 2 skeins of sock yarn in colour Galaxy. They had been sitting in my stash box waiting to be inspired by a pattern. This was the perfect opportunity to break out the stash!
I checked out Ravelry and found the pattern Same Thing Only Different by Cheryl Schumer. I admit at this stage I didn't need a pattern really, this is a simple rectangular knit with a small amount of seaming... nothing difficult. However, I did refer to Cheryl's measurements and work something similar based on my yardage... so kudos where kudos is due, this is not my own pattern/idea entirely. Cheryl considers knitting plain stockinette for her pattern and with the delicate yarn choices she made, I would tend to agree. However, for me stockinette would have been a little plain in this heavier weight of yarn, so I opted for some lace detailing using Lace Knitting to Go Deck: 25 Lovely Lace Patterns (Cards) by Andrea Tung. I kept it simple and went with an easy butterfly motif.
The yarn and shape blocked beautifully, so I was really glad to start wearing this. I'm eyeing up the stash box to see what's next, as I could always do with a second or third poncho option in my wardrobe!
So why did I call it 'Madame Butterfly's Galaxy'? Well, it's just a combination of names... the lace pattern in the book was called Madam Butterfly, which is a very simple yarn over pattern (great beginner lace) and the yarn colourway is Galaxy. Not a hugely inspired name, but better than the alternative 'my new poncho'!
Anyhoo... back to packing Fleece Club!
Sara x
