Fiber Dreams

I made a bit of progress on the Mingus sock over the weekend. Two more rows, and I get to start the heel flap. That would happen tonight for sure, but I’m going to meet up with some local knitters this evening, and I know I won’t be taking that complicated pattern to work on. Sorry. No picture today. Other than being larger than the last time, it doesn’t really look any different.

What does look different is the sock I’m designing with the Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock yarn. Over the course of the weekend it went from looking like this:

To this:

To this:

Yup. At some point the kismet that I was feeling between the yarn and the cable pattern fizzled and died. It’s like it hit a wall or something, and I couldn’t even knit it any more. So I knit swatches for a couple days instead, while I decided what to do. I went pattern diving again, and came up with this little gem that is a simple knit-purl pattern, is super easy to knit, and gives the resulting fabric a kind of shimmering or optical effect or something. Much better. Much, much better. It even works beautifully with the 2×2 ribbing I already had.

While I was ripping out the previous stitch pattern and taking pictures I had this furry little helper. Isn’t she pretty? Her winter coat is nice and thick, too. So warm.

Speaking of swatches

I have more TNNA swag swatches to share with you. This is going to be the last group. The other yarns that I got from Louet I just don’t like well enough to bother winding and swatching. I know. Sad. Most of them are full hanks, too. Drat.

Starting at the top row we have two weights of Louet Gems yarn: sport and worsted. The yarns in this family are machine washable (and dryable!) merino. Both of the weights I have are nice and soft. I would love to have a sweater out of either of them, though I’d rather make one out of the worsted weight (bigger needles).

The tan colored yarn is the sport weight version. I think this is what they call Mustard, color 35. It doesn’t look like mustard to me, but it’s a fairly close match to the color on the screen. I knit up my swatch on size 6 needles, which were way too big, but I didn’t feel like getting up to get smaller needles. You’re supposed to use size 3 or 5 needles to get a gauge of five to six stitches per inch. I got about 9.25 stitches in two inches with my size 6 needles. Hm. Based on that I think I’d be happiest with this yarn with a size 4 needle.

I’m a lot happier with the worsted weight swatch, as I got a better gauge, firmer fabric. The yarn’s supposed to give a gauge of 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch with size 5 to 7 needles. I used size 7s with this yarn, and got a gauge of 4 stitches per inch. To get their recommended gauge I’d obviously have to go down a needle size, or two, but that’s okay. It’s expected. This swatch looks surprisingly good at this gauge. Oh, this appears to be color 21, Cloud Gray.

Next up is the worsted weight Louet KidLin, a blend of 53% kid mohair, 24% linen, 23% nylon. I didn’t think I’d like this yarn at all before I started knitting with it, but it was so nice and fuzzy that I had to give it a try. I find this interesting. They recommend a size 7 to 9 needle, and a gauge of 3 stitches per inch. I used a size 6 needle, and got a gauge of 4 stitches per inch. It would certainly be a looser, more open fabric at only 3 stitches per inch. It would probably make a reasonable sweater either way. The yarn itself is interesting. I think it’s the most loosely plied yarn I’ve ever seen. About the only thing holding the strands together is mohair fuzz. Really. There’s not much in the way of twist until you get to the singles. There are four singles here. In this particular color, which I think is color 75, Pumpkin Patch, each single is a different color—one each red, bright green, orange, pumpkin. The strand of linen stands out as it’s shiny and the only one that isn’t fuzzy. I think a lot of people won’t be able to wear this yarn next to the skin, as the mohair just isn’t that soft. I’ve knit with much higher grades of mohair than this. Disappointing, really, as the fabric is lovely to look at.

I have two more swatches to share with you. They’re both from Crystal Palace yarns. First up is Puffin, a 100% polyester fleece yarn in color 0209, Bambino Dots. This stuff is interesting. I’m not sure that “yarn” is the correct word for it. It’s not what I’d call a ribbon, either. Maybe “tape”? The texture is like a soft, fine felt blanket that’s been cut into very narrow strips. You’re supposed to get 3 to 3.5 stitches per inch with size 10.75 to 13 needles. I used size 9 needles, since they were handy, and got a gauge of 3.5 stitches per inch. I’d hate to see this knit up at a tighter gauge. It’s rather stiff as it is. At least with this size swatch, and I used up all of the yarn in my sample. This is probably great yarn for stuff for kids: cuddly blankies or bulky sweaters. It’s nice and soft. I think it’d be best for blankets to cuddle up in.

Last up is Crystal Palace’s Bunny Hop in color 2308, Baby Sherbet, made of 50% micro acrylic, 42% micro nylon, and 8% rabbit angora. This stuff is really soft. It’s hard to put down. Must be the tiny bit of angora in it. It’s supposed to give a gauge of 4.5 to 5 stitches per inch on size 7 or 8 needles. I used size 6 needles, and got a gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch. Down one needle size from recommended. That’s about right for me. The swatch drapes beautifully, and though the colors aren’t exactly me, they’re pleasing. I wouldn’t want to wear a garment out of this, but that’s only because I don’t like wearing synthetics. If I did, you’d be hard-pressed to get me out of a sweater made of this stuff.

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