A Fangirl's Guide to Clara Parkes

Clara Parkes is a name familiar to those crafters wanting to expand their knowledge of yarn.  Whether it's through any of her books, such as the Knitter's Book of Wool, her Craftsy classes (Know Your Yarn  is a favourite of mine), her blog, Knitter's Review,  or the many retreats she teaches at, Clara has shared her yarn expertise. Of course, I shouldn't forget to mention her Instagram and Twitter accounts where she has a huge following.  I think we can all agree that Clara Parkes is the Yarn Guru of the Crafting World.  

If all that didn't keep her busy enough, she has recently become involved in manufacturing her own wool.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on some Clara Yarn 2.0, a 100% Cormo, DK weight yarn.  

Clara Yarn:  Cormo 2.0

I waited several months before I decided what pattern to knit with my two skeins of this special yarn.  I finally decided on a lace shawl pattern called Over the Sea to Skye by Kalurah Hudson.  I really wanted to knit a shawl that consisted of a variety of stitches to see what this yarn could do, and this pattern was a perfect fit.  As a bonus, I had visited the Isle of Skye with my family so I chose this pattern for sentimental reasons as well.

In progress

I had never knit with Cormo before and I have to admit that I enjoyed every minute of it. The yarn was so soft and I was surprised at how different it felt from knitting with merino.  Cormo 2.0 is truly a gorgeous yarn.  I swear I could have finished the pattern much earlier if I hadn't frequently stopped to admire it.  I honestly was sad to knit the last stitch of this pattern and I would have loved to have had enough yarn to knit a sweater.

Blocking had a magical effect on the shawl.  The yarn bloomed, the lace opened up, and the dimensions of the shawl grew quite a bit which is exactly what I wanted. 

It must be amazing to create such a yarn.  Clara Parkes has really opened my eyes to the variety of yarn available and I am leaning toward knitting with more natural yarn and less of the superwashed variety.  I definitely want to expand my yarn palette.

Thank you Clara for such a lovely yarn. I look forward to seeing what you come out with next.