Amy Butler's Belle Yarn for Rowan

I have always been blown away by Amy Butler color choices; it is characteristic that really set her above the crowd. The color palette was the aspect I was most excited about when I first heard about her Belle for Rowan yarn line. I was not disappointed. I am also pleased with its organic quality. I knew her line would be amazing simply because it is produced by Rowan and...it...is! The blend of cotton and wool is quite deceiving and intriguing. At first you can just feel the cotton, but then you notice the plush quality of the wool. It is easy to work with and stays together like cotton. It knits slower like cotton but it doesn't have the dry feeling of cotton but the soft trait of wool. It is stretchy like wool but it is not as fuzzy. It has all the best features of both fibers.

The stitch definition is above par lending it well to cables, color work, and tricky textures. Given the softness of wool and the smoothness of cotton, this yarn works well for wearing close to the skin: hats, sweaters, leg warmers, and hand warmers. There is no irritation so you know it will also be a great gift for babies and small, sensitive children. I am planning on using Amy Butler's Belle in my November Free Pattern Download but with some many possibilities I am having trouble narrowing it down. The swatch shown is actually one of my attempts to narrow down a design for November (you are looking at swatch number 4).  Usually, I pick the yarn first and the project just follows but there are simply so many directions to go with Belle that I am happily frustrated.

Color shown are Cilantro, Peacock, Aubergine