I am so happy to be able to show you photos of my completed Myrtle tank:

We are in the midst of a drought and a heat wave here, so we’ve struggled to find a bit of cool to take these photos. Notice how the cool greys of the stones above bring out the cooler tones, and the green background below brings out the warmer tones.
Myrtle is a great design by Kate Davies. Her pattern calls for mohair yarn and long sleeves and looks deliciously cozy and stylish for a walk in the crisp air, see below photo. I have wanted to make one since the pattern first came out, in her book, The West Highland Way, in 2017. (This is the second project I’ve knitted from this book: the first is my Highland Rogue Cowl, which I blogged about here.)
I took a detour from the Highland Way and made my Myrtle as a summer-y tank top. I think it really works!

The colours are not in my normal palette. In fact, this yarn was originally purchased as a kit to make a shawl, and one day I suddenly had the inspiration to use the yarn to knit a summer-y version of Myrtle (you can read about it in this earlier post). Here is the yarn:

The unintended result was that the process became a bit of a puzzle with some yarn chicken thrown in: the shawl kit contained two full skeins and three partial skeins and I had to make decisions in order to get the look I wanted while being limited by the amounts.

I ran out of the darker green first (you can see that there are five repeats of each of the other colours, but only four of the dark green). The colour that I liked the least at the beginning, the lighter green, ended up surprising me: in fact I chose to make the arm and neck ribbing from this shade instead of the white as I originally planned. I quite like it.

I choose to knit two rows of rib with the white before switching colours in the arm and neck rib, in order to imitate the two rows of white stockinette between each lace panel in the pattern. It makes a very neat touch.

This project has been a long time coming. I started this last summer, and at the time I was planning on making a tee. I finished the front and back, but was running out of both the dark green and the dark rose shades, and was struggling with matching up the concept in my head with the yarn at hand. I put it aside while I tried to talk myself into short sleeves using only the three lighter shades, or some subset thereof.

It then got usurped completely when I decided to take on a big project for my daughter Emma, which had to be finished for Christmas. I finally decided to skip the short sleeves and turn it into a tank, and picked it back up again. When I had only about 5-6 hours of work left to complete it, I got Covid. It has taken me over 8 weeks to put in the few hours to complete it and to find the energy to photograph it. (I have been tempted to wait another few months to take photos, since not only have I been sick for 8 weeks, but I look like I’ve been sick for 8 weeks. Doug says you won’t care.)
I really enjoyed every aspect of knitting this. I especially liked the surprise involved in taking one of Kate’s beautiful patterns and changing it up, and having it turn out even better in real life than it did in my head. This is the second time in two years I have done this with one of Kate’s pattern: the first was the Ursula waistcoat I knitted for Doug last year.

It’s lovely, isn’t it? I like the fact that I can dress it up or down, wear it with jeans or under a jacket. And I am pleased to go outside of my colour comfort zone.
I’m happy to be slowly recovering and picking up my knitting again. Take care, everyone!
Your tank-top Myrtle is a complete success. Glad to see you’re up and about!
Lovely! The colors really suit you. Yes, I am also glad you are up and about again. Long may it continue!
Congratulations on a very nice looking (& well-fitting) tank on you. The color palette is good too. I share your experience of trying different colors in contrast to the “usual” choices and happily finding a welcome new addition to my wardrobe. (That lighter green has become a particular favorite.) Enjoy the beautiful new tank! Good to know you’re feeling better!
It is beautiful! Your changes really worked out well – the colors are great on you, and it does look wonderful dressed up or down, as you say! So glad you are feeling better 🙂
Glad you are feeling better and have your knitting mojo back. The vest is a triumph – it looks so good without sleeves and in those fresh spring colours
This is completely gorgeous and really suits you. The colours of that yarn, and overall palette, is just delicious! So glad you are beginning to feel better too.
Thank you, Kate! This was so much fun to knit. I’m pleased to get back to knitting and other pursuits.
Glad you are feeling better! You are looking very stylish in your Myrtle and wide-legged trousers and jeans.
Wow, your tank Myrtle turned out fantastic. For me I would knit a tee. Looks like a great way to use up minis.
Doug is correct! We don’t care. It’s good to see you upright and on the way to a full recovery And, the tank is lovely!
Nice to see you, Kelly! Doug is right – – you look great, especially when that smile lights up your face! The sweater is gorgeous and fits you perfectly. And, great colours for you.
It’s gorgeous! I love the changes you made, and the colors are excellent!