I’ve been making and knitting with my newest yarn experiments, my own UnSpun Peruvian superwash sock yarn, both the fingering and dk weights, and knit with my new Double Cappuccino Socks pattern as well. As I have been doing all … Continue reading
Finally knitting my nieces Autumn sweaters, and so relieved too, as I deliberated endlessly over which yarn, and going in circles I finally decided to try “Simply Wool” ; 100% Eco Wool, by Knit Picks. This yarn is grown and milled in Peru, eight shades of undyed natural fleece colors, and so utterly basic, the yarn is aptly named. The colors are warm and visually appealing, no bleaches or chemicals of any kind, just the quiet sheepy tones, and is very soothing to knit, as if to right all the wrongs in the world.
For a few years now I’ve been wanting to make a departure from superwash wool for my nieces’ sweaters, hoping eventually to win them over to the loft and resilience of natural wool, but I have been too worried anything other than the softest pure Merino will not be soft enough for them, but I cast on in good faith. After knitting through part of the colorwork yoke I could feel the downy halo of the fibers bloom, unexpectedly, so it was a green light for me, and full steam ahead. Intrigued by the complexity of the tweedy heathers blended together to achieve the distinct shades of greys, browns, and natural whites, and being a fan of undyed fleece colors, I am sure it will be one of my most used yarns in the future. Besides, I am always keeping my eye out for a good base yarn to over-dye, um, I wonder, maybe this could be it?
The pattern I am knitting, Sol Inca, is designed in such a way that the increases happen gradually down the yoke, so I can begin knitting, unsure of what size I ultimately will make, being that once I get past the chart I will have enough knitted I can get an accurate gauge from it. If I need to stop increases, finish the yoke, and continue down the body portion, or if I need to, I can continue the increases and make the yoke the next size bigger (I talk a little bit about it in this post). I love this, a real hidden perk if I ever found one by accident in this pattern. I am really relaxing now, giving myself more than enough time for a middle to late November photo shoot. My nieces are keen on continuing our tradition, and so I am better than fine!
In these glorious down-pouring rainy days of April I am knitting socks and trying out a new yarn that I’m really excited about, Berroco Ultra Wool Fine. 100% Superwash (Peruvian) wool, three somewhat lofty plies, with 400g – 366m per 100g ball, and … Continue reading
Another great addition to Knit Pick’s colossal array of yarns, Simply Wool is spun from wool grown in a century-old sustainable way in the Highlands of Peru, it comes in six shades undyed natural fleece colors blends, in both worsted and bulky weights. Having worked with Wool Of The Andes, a Peruvian Highland wool from corriedale-merino cross breed of sheep, Simply Wool is noted on the website as ‘eco wool’ but that is not describing how or to what extent the wool itself is different from Wool Of The Andes. I’d say much softer than Wool Of The Andes, what I’d expect from an un-dyed and minimally processed wool, and it comes in 100g skeins.
I am creating a fine lace-weight in this supreme all-natural yarn, which started from a ball of worsted weight in light grey . 
With drop spindle I deconstructed the soft wool exactly as in this tutorial post , and after a couple of days unplying here and there, finally this morning I spliced all the single plies end-to-end on the swift and felt it to be a major accomplishment that I am very pleased with!
I am not over-dying this big skein in a simmer dye bath, as I want it to be au natural, the whole point of buying Simply Wool, aside from the ecological consideration, so I just gave the skein of energized single ply off of the swift a warm bath and a hot rinse to carefully but slightly felt the yarn to set the twist as it will remain for the rest of its days a single ply, in a stole of a particular design in mind. So I’ll see how this yarn knits up in a day or so!
Right now I’ve got it speed drying on a baseboard heater, hoping to have it re-skeined by the end of the day so I can cast on for more insane lace knitting!
I’m finally up to rattling off a couple of knitted somethings for my nieces this summer. Wanting to use linen for these, I thought I would try with some linen blend yarn I’ve had my eye on for a while ~~ Knit Picks Lindy Chain .
This yarn is a chain of a super fine single, rather than plied, 70% linen/30% pima cotton, fingering weight, and 180 yards to 50g ball. Crisp, attentive, not rascally, but soft, and I feel like the pima cotton element is making it easier on my fingers too. I’ve done acres of knitting the hem with 2.75mm needles, and graduated to 3.25mm for the stockinette. I got three balls in each color for two sleeveless items, but let me tell you, as this yarn is not wool, I have no bearing as to how yardage and weight work together for a garment, this is me navigating the sea of unknown.
Hey, did you know that Miss Eighteen is leaving for college this summer? This won’t be the last of the darling duo, not by a long shot, but I did want to send Miss Eighteen off with a recent sweater success fresh in her thoughts, as we did miss the Vernal Equinox Spring Tee due to my incessant moving about. So I’m giving myself until mid July to finish two linen summery things. Counting down. Stay tuned.
I have knit up a pair of St Andrews Harbour socks
in a new yarn I’ve never tried,
and I’m smitten!
This yarn was found quite unexpectedly in a maze of aisles , with shelves of acrylic yarns reaching nearly to the ceiling,
and I was so surprised to have to tame my yarn snobbery, for this yarn was found at our local Michael’s Craft Store!
Modest little balls of Kroy …
Yes folks, the secret is out, the yarn is Patons Kroy Sock; a washable wool & nylon 4ply sock yarn, and a surprisingly rustic feeling yarn, in a surprisingly rustic solid shade of “flax” … (see my post A Rustic Yarn to get the meaning ). The confusing thing is that on the label it says “super fine fingering” , don’t let that fool you, fine fingering weight is not at all what it is, this yarn is 166 yards per 50 gram ball, which equals 332 yards per 100g, definitely in the category of sport-weight. Other yarns with this same yardage are super popular Malabrigo “Arroyo” — which I believe would make the perfect soft sock for this design, and Cascade 220 sport (not the superwash one) which was the yarn I knit the cover prototype of the pattern, and one of my all-time favorite yarns. Kroy is sport-weight yarn, ignore the label.
This pair of fishermens socks were knit with option to switch to stockinette after gusset decreases are finished, which makes a little less bulky in the shoe ( see Ravelry project details here) Anyway, I think I have found a really affordable “vintage” feeling yarn for these fishermen socks; the yarn is a bit rough at first, but as I knit it it feels better and more compliant, and I just know its going to soften a lot in the wash. Crazy, as I’m such a connoisseur of yarn, but it behaves very well, knits up very stretchy & brings out wool’s best elastic properties, and with great stitch definition.
Oh and the color ” Flax ” is ideal for a rustic old-fashioned look, and I bet the Fishermen of olden days would have loved a pair of socks made from this yarn. Will try the “Gentry Grey” soon, thinking these two colors are the only heathered solids in this yarn. Afterthought: Um… well, folks, I figure now that I can over-dye the Flax color, and have just bought 4 more balls and ideas rushing to the fore!
My new wool love is Isager Tweed, made in Ireland and the most gorgeous commercial tweed yarn I’ve seen in my local yarn shop to date. Ever since Rowan discontinued their Fine Tweed yarn, I was not sure how to improvise a substitution for a rustic multi-color tweed single ply.
What is it about tweed that is just so utterly sensual, timeless, and tasteful?
Isager Tweed in Navy and Winter Grey
It must be color variegation which happens only when yarn is spun from pre-dyed fibers, blended together so that those little explosions of random ~~ sometimes quirky, sometimes quiet ~~ contrasting color flecks just pop out, and make the visual as well as tactile texture very distinctive.
Ireland and the British Isles have been for centuries steeped in the wool mill industry, its countryside once peppered with countless woollen mills during the Industrial Age, but in modern times there are only a handful of the old mills still producing, for major yarn companies (like Isager) as well as a growing number of indie knitwear designers who wish to have their own mill spun label.
The yarn is fingering to fine-fingering weight, a blend of wool and mohair , in a beautifully rustic single ply. It has a very subtle coarseness , I am guessing from the goat hair, which gives it an old world feel and ever so like handspun with slight thick and thin variation in the yarn, but at the same time it is soft to the touch from being mostly a downy breed of wool to balance out and gives it a very versatile feel. Even though I am deeply involved in the spinning of my own tweed, and I actually aspire to produce a single ply tweed much like this yarn, but if hand-spun isn’t handy, I can’t go wrong with the real Irish spun. I must say how lovely it is that my local yarn shop has this great yarn, and in the best colors too.
♣ ♣ ♣
Oh! I found yet another wool film in the “Hands” series about how to make a Donegal spinning wheel! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have …
Northumbria Fingering, 100% Bluefaced Leicester wool, in the color ” Beachglass “.
How can one stray toward unhappiness with a beautiful hand-dyed wool on the needles like this? Just my thoughts exactly. I will be on the straight-and-narrow toward a hopeful horizon because I have this woolly lot given to me by a lovely little tadpole. Something to cuddle and keep my hands busy & warm.
Soon I will cast on for an Fishwives Lace Shoal being that an engaging lace is just the tonic needed, because I haven’t knit a stitch for two months, and I do believe knit-walking in particular has supernatural ability to fend off all that is unpleasant. Just me and 100 grams /437 yards, and a good & kindly level path to meander on, while contemplating the Territory Ahead. Thank you tadpole!
♣ ♣ ♣
Its been a very difficult time for me in recent last month (already nearly two since the wildfire) as I grow out of shock, and face grief in its many facades. There simply aren’t many things I can expect from myself for a while, but to survive this period of hard knocks, dealing with the insurance company and inevitable constrained possibilities of future rebuild … I am to say the least, just staying afloat with sails down, in a sea of uncertainty. Spinning some, soon to be knitting again.
I have been enjoying the cafe culture lately, here with my favorite afternoon treat outside on the patio, a cafe latte & and knitting upvalley, stopping off at St Helena Coffee Roastery on my way home from Calistoga last Friday, after photographing my nieces in their Spring Tees 2017
The days are blissful here on the mountain, with brief spells of sun transitioning back to grey & wintery. Rain, fog and lingering cool air, as if the season doesn’t really want quite yet to get balmy yet (which I’m fine with), and I am rising above all that oppresses me!
Still, there are explosions of wildflowers beginning to bloom~~ lupine, clover, paintbrush, poppies, brodea, iris ~~ all heralding the Spring season, regardless of the reluctant temperatures. I have wrapped up a lot of epic knitting projects in recent weeks, while kicking off new big BIG design conceptions, and yet more socks keep coming off the needles. These were such a pleasure, knit with such color that I couldn’t be the least bit gloomy when knitting them!
Pattern: Wild Wool Trail Socks in the ‘Country Sock’ variation.
Yarn: Ripples Crafts Hand-dyed Yarns, in Reliable Sock, in “Assynt Storms” colorway. Note: I highly recommend this sock yarn, for it is really beautiful yarn to knit with, and dying is exceptional with no muddy spots, all pure blends of colors, sparkling, and with quick color transition.
Details on Ravelry HERE.
A year and a half ago I wrote a rather traditional feather & fan lace motif into a simple cowl pattern to be available either by itself or in an e-book collection of three cowls, and for this lace prototype I used yarn “Road To China Light”. It was not meant to be by itself anything amazing or noteworthy, but it appears to have meandered its modest way into the Indie Designer Patterns on the Fibre Co. website. I am quite pleasantly surprised, and have excitedly come to spread the news first to Yarnings readers!
I must confess, this is a first for me, and it has brightened everything on this drizzling cold mountain today. So, I have decided to make myself another celebratory lace cowl with some more Fibre Co. Road to China Light yarn, and I have been absolutely craving one in greyish teal or plum…
Yarn weight: Sport Skein weight: 50 g
Fibre: 65% baby alpaca, 15% silk, 10% camel, 10% cashmere
Also, I am gifting this pattern (for a very limited time) to anybody who would like to knit one along with me, in whatever yarn you desire…
Edit In : Pattern give-away is closed. Thanks to those who joined in!
I will be posting my lace cowl in whatever yummy color of Fibre Co. yarn I end up choosing and show progress reports on it in forthcoming posts , and I do honestly hope to see you & your project pop up over on Ravelry!
Mid day sun streams through the canopy, and I am feeling the presence of vernal influences…
The blissful places I have been missing for a while beckon to me…
All winter we have had pelting rain storms one after another, and Northern California is officially declared over the drought while reservoir spillways gush furiously!
Something about the approach of the equinox softens nature to a sweetness indescribable…
So I will leave off and show you the latest I’ve made,
a pair of trail socks!
…with my recent discovery of the snugger heel stitch foot, these socks are now ready for adventure!
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn, in Merlot Heather and Navy
Pattern: Wild Wool Trail Socks , with recent update option of colossally snug heel stitch foot section, my pattern is now completely ‘dialed in’.
Project Details: on Ravelry HERE.
I have gotten another package from Kilcar in Ireland, a lovely bunch of Studio Donegal yarn ! Worsted-weight, one-hundred percent merino wool, and aptly named …
“Soft Donegal”
In Sweater Descent #1 I wrote a sort of introduction for what is now my series Sweater Descent Project…
Descent is a word which takes many directions in meaning, most typically it means to ‘move down’ or ‘lower’ as in a physical place of going, as ‘down from a high place’ as from the peak of a mountain. It has metaphorical meaning to me as well, which I absolutely groove on, like ‘making easier’ and ‘moving into a secure low-ground of the known’. Of course there is the meaning of ‘lineage’ or ‘clan’, and far-off distant cultures or bloodlines one may have come from. But for me, primarily the relationship of the word refers to mountains, and walking, and in my case knitting while walking about the mountain on which I live.
And now for Sweater Descent #2
This post also being a yarn-tasting theme , I would like to show you my yarn acquisition, and I am watering at the mouth truly, envisioning this in my second very own Calidez Cardigan ! A rich depth of color, explosion of tweedy flecks, I am totally smitten with the color range of Studio Donegal “Soft Donegal” and see great potential for using this yarn in future designs. But for now all there is left to do, is cast on!
ps. I thought I would mention too, that Emma is one-hundred percent better, and managing the stairs all by herself with new addition of rugs! And thats us… off to the Knitting Track!
At last, my very own cardigan, and it is so special because it is from a wool I’ve wanted to knit forever, and in a pattern which I designed to be my favorite sweater recipe. . .
Calidez Cardigan knit up in Donegal Aran Tweed!
I made it with Autumn neckline. The pattern has four seasons of necklines in case you weren’t aware: winter=full yoke depth, autumn=3/4, spring=1/2, summer=very low. . .
I had so many choices to color match buttons because of all the flecks of tweed in the yarn, but in the end, I only had more shell buttons, but I will find some more, in russet and change them out later.
When it came down to it, I am purely smitten. Donegal Aran Tweed knits up beautifully and has a real ‘slinky’ feel to it when knit up at 3.25 sts to the inch, although I was so tempted to try a smaller needle size, I chose the larger, appealing to a drapier cardigan, however, because of the fact, it is very stretchy and a wee bit baggy, but like in a good way. Next I will try a slightly firmer cardigan fabric, as well as make a size smaller. I still can’t decide what color to go with for my next, and I do think it will have to be a Soft Donegal, and I am thinking to go wild, and get this color.
Well folks, that’s it for today, posting from very rainy Mt Veeder! I couldn’t be happier than with a just-finished cardigan to wear, and you can see details of this project on Ravelry here.
Everything in it’s place, and life is good. Oh, and I’ve been enjoying listening to some beautiful Irish pipes while knitting Irish Wool . . .
What have we here? A cardigan (for moi) which I will be finishing in the next couple of days! Some time ago, back in this post , I talked about knitting a cardigan from Studio Donegal Aran Tweed. I actually cast … Continue reading
Wee Hearts in nine different Fair Isle Hebridean 2ply colors! Actually this hat is a study on one of Alice*Starmore’s colorways , a colorway from her design “Mary Tudor” from her 2013 second edition of Tudor Roses , using her own yarn, as sequenced in the chart. You could say this hat was a colorway test for Mary Tudor Cardigan, although I did change some colors around from the chart, because of a mistake I made. I really came out of the study with a better understanding of how the blending of foreground color changes against background color changes can be in modern Fair Isle.
Now I am wondering, do I have time for one more? Not really, I must be on to Autumnal Sweaters!
