Dovestone Hills review

Carol Feller is a designer I have long admired for her delicate patterning and her elegant attention to detail. The first pattern of hers I knitted is called Talamh -a lovely top down cardigan which I made in Noro Silk Garden.

Carol has two new books out but I would like to show you the first called Dovestone Hills, a collection of designs celebrating the latest yarn (Dovestone, in case you hadn’t guessed) from Yorkshire’s Baa Ram Ewe – a retailer I am sure most of you know. This is a DK yarn spun from the fleece of the Masham sheep, blended with Blue-faced Leicester to add softnessand a little Wensleydale long wool to add a delicious sheen. The shades available will be familiar; they are the same as Baa Ram Ewe’s Titus yam. Masham has a long staple length and can be hard to get hold of so this yarn is a real treat. I asked Carol to tell me more about the yarn: “Dovestone DK surprised me as a yarn. Visually it looks like a very rustic yarn, loosely spun with a lot of halo. However once you start knitting it is smooth and soft and blocks to a nice even stitch. The colour palette is earthy with some subtle bright tones, easy to use as a designer and very wearable.”

The book features both garments and accessories with lots of interesting quirks. Dovestone has just the right amount of twist to give a gorgeous stitch definition.

My favourite design is Capitoline – a  side to side knit which would look gorgeous in. any of Dovestone’s colours. It is mainly designed in garter stitch, which I love, and features a lace panel at each side and at the front to add interest to the structure.

I am also itching to cast on a textured striped shawl called Aventine which is very straight-forward – just the kind of TV knitting I like in the winter months.

If you are curious to know where the pattern names come from, they are variations of  the names of the hills where Carol lives and were created by her husband who apparently loves coming up with the names for her patterns.

You can buy Dovestone Hills by Carol Feller here but I have a copy to give away. Just leave a comment here and I will choose a winner at the end of November.