Trish Knits.com

Category: Yarn

  • Blog Week Day 7: Yarn Love

    Wow… today is the last day of Blog Week! I am sad to see it end, but, at the same time, I confess that I am a bit relieved as well. I never have been a daily blogger, and I have no intention of maintaining this week’s hectic pace. In fact, most of the time I don’t have nearly enough to say, so it has been very helpful to have pre-defined topics. If Blog week ever happens again, so long as it’s not next week? I’m definitely in.

    I think today’s topic, “A Good Yarn,” which is kinda sorta supposed to be about a favorite yarn, is one of the hardest so far to write. How do I choose a favorite? Isn’t that like trying to choose a favorite child, or a favorite flavor of ice cream?

    The truth is, I never met a yarn I didn’t like. I love them all, for different reasons. I have knit with everything from the cheapest dishcloth cotton to the yummiest of cashmere. I admit that I have not tried quiviut yarn yet, because at roughly $90 an ounce, I can’t afford to fall in love with it! I even must confess that–don’t tell anyone, please–I don’t hate acrylic yarn. In fact, before I became a knitter, I don’t think it occurred to me that I would ever want to knit with anything other than acrylic, mostly because of the ease of care.

    But, I have changed my ways. I have so many types of yarn in my stash now, that acrylic is probably the least among them. So, when I looked around to determine a favorite yarn, if I could possibly have such a thing, it was a good, basic wool.

    Lots of Cascade 220 in various shades
    Lots of Cascade 220 in various shades
    One such example is Cascade 220. I call it my Workhorse Yarn, because there’s almost nothing that can’t be made with it. I love it for hats, because the wool is so warm. And I love it that it comes in so many wonderful colors. It’s like having the whole Crayola Big Box. Didn’t you feel special when you knew that you had all the colors? That’s kinda how I feel about Cascade. I have collected the colors over time and I love having so many to choose from, no matter what whim hits me when I want to knit something. I especially love hitting the once-a-year Webs sale, when this yarn becomes especially affordable. (Pssst… in case you didn’t know, that sale is on… NOW!)

    There are other yarns that also are good, sturdy wools I love. Most notably, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, which is a fabulous wool at a fabulous price, and Brown Sheep Lambs Pride, which contains a little bit of mohair. This is my favorite yarn for making my felted hats, as the mohair gives a slight fuzzy halo to the hats. I think the mohair adds to the elegance of the felted items.

    This weekend was the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which is my favorite event of the year. The weather was about as hot as I ever remember for this early in May, but I was really thankful that it wasn’t raining. I saw lots of friends, enjoyed great food, heard some fabulous traditional music, and oh, yes, some yarn followed me home. I’m still working on my photos from the event but I hope you’ll be hearing more about that in the next day or so. Until then, I bid you goodnight.

  • A Box Full O’ Pretty

    Yesterday, I was excited to receive a box full of new yarns from Knit Picks!

    When Stroll Tonals became available last week, I had to order some! Now, I know y’all have heard me say that I am NOT a sock knitter. But, how could I not love this yarn? For me, it’s all about the colors. In fact, I loved the colors so much that I had a bit of trouble narrowing down my color selections. So, I got eight hanks. That sounds like a lot, but I have plans for them.

    Stroll Tonals in blues and purples
    Stroll Tonals in blues and purples

    Left to right are Royalty, Blue Violet, Blue Yonder, and Deep Waters.

    Stroll Tonals, in bright, springy colors
    Stroll Tonals, in bright, springy colors

    Left to right are Summer Blooms, Queen Anne, Golden Glow, and Springtime.

    So, what’s a not-sock-knitter supposed to do with such lovely sock yarns? Well. for starters I’m thinking of a couple of really adorable baby sets, with sweaters, hats,and yes, matching socks. I still have to do some sketching and planning, but I’m seeing a couple of things in my head right now that I think would make really cute baby sets.

    Then, you know what else I’m thinking? Socks. Yep… socks. Soft and squishy socks with lovely contrasting heels and toes. Maybe even socks for me. How about that?

    If I didn’t have a sweater to finish first, I’d start now. I love this yarn. It’s so… pretty.

    Thanks, Knit Picks. You got me. Again.

  • A Comfy Pillow…

    Tegan finds a comfy pillow
    Tegan finds a comfy pillow
    The sight of this photo is going to make cat lovers say, “awww!” But I know all you Yarnies out there are cringing.This is Tegan, my 16-year-old tabby, curled up on my desk. In a pile of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. My DH quipped that Tegan probably thought my mohair needed “mo’ hair” in it. But alas, this is a definite testament to the yarn’s softness, that she would choose it for a pillow. She’s still sleeping on it now, and I fear that her individually uniquely stripey hairs are now permanently entwined into it.

    Perhaps, in a weird way, this isn’t an entirely bad thing. Tegan is my little shadow and when I am home, she is rarely away from my side. It has always been this way, much to the chagrin of our other cat, but she is my constant companion. Many mothers I know complain that they can’t get peace, even in the bathroom, for their kids following them in there. For me, it’s the cat. She’s always on my desk pawing at me for attention, and constantly walking across my keyboard if I don’t respond fast enough (“fast enough” being a half a second shorter than, “now!”). Of course walking across the keyboard over and over again can cause havoc, especially when I’m trying to code HTML or something, and often I find myself saying something cross in exasperation.

    Tegan is getting older now, and she is thin and not in the greatest health. We do our best to provide for her needs as an elderly member of our family, but we know that the day is coming that I won’t have the constant meowing in my ear or the special coding generated by kitty paws taking yet another stroll across my keyboard. I know that I shall miss her terribly, but at least now I know that someday soon I will have a Kid Mohair wrap to snuggle up with and always remember her. And I am sure I’ll be forever finding tan and black individually striped hairs… and I shall smile when I do.

  • My Mailbox Runneth Over!

    Today was a good mailbox day. A really good one.

    Today I got this in the mail:

    Knit Picks New Traditions Afghan Kit
    Knit Picks New Traditions Afghan Kit

    It’s the New Traditions Afghan Kit by Knit Picks. I saw this on their website for the first time last week, and I knew immediately that I must have one. The bright colors are certainly a huge attraction. But, what really got me was the quilt design, knit modularly, in what looks like all garter stitch. (I haven’t yet taken the pattern out of the bag for wanting to keep the yarn all together.) Once I get the technique down, can you IMAGINE the creative possibilities, and all of the quilting designs? I am practically glowing from excitement at the thought of it all!

    The other thing that came in the mail was this:

    Fall 1997 Interweave Knits
    Fall 1997 Interweave Knits
    This is the Fall 1997 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. It’s a very early issue. Thumbing through the pages I quickly realized that one of two things must be true: either it’s that truly classic, beautiful designs never really go out of style, or perhaps I am hopelessly behind the times and unfashionable. This fabulous issue contains a top-down Aran by Beth Brown-Reinsel, with not only a pattern, but also a detailed article about its construction. And there’s the article about Alice Starmore, and a pattern by Alice Starmore. Cool!

    Those of you who have been knitting forever might already have this magazine in the rack on your shelf, and you’re probably chuckling at my glee. Or, maybe you’re quietly nodding, because you totally get it. You understand. Either way, this magazine is a treasure to me. And, out of style or not, I don’t care. I’m going to get up the guts and knit something from this puppy.

    Someday.

  • Christmas is Coming… It’s Time to Knit a Hat…

    What? You mean that’s not how the song goes?

    Well, I’ve been singing it to myself like crazy as I’ve been knitting away on my stripey elf hat:

    elf hat in progress
    elf hat in progress

    It now has twice as many stripes as it did last week and I am beginning to have hope that it might actually be wearable by Christmas morning. I’m liking it better than I did last week, too. It always looks nicer as the spirals become obvious. I love this pattern by Brian Kohler. I wish he would re-publish it. It’s so fun to make! The original pattern was designed for two colors, a main color and a color for the ribbing and tassel.) By adding stripes I actually made the stripes a touch wider. The reason is that each row is a combination of knit and purl stitches forming a wide rib, and I wanted to make sure that the color transitions were not made icky by showing the interlocking nature of the purl side… so I added a row of plain stockinette at the beginning and end of each stripe. So, the stripes blend perfectly! Because of the spiraling nature of the pattern the color change jog is very minimal as well, so I think overall this has worked out well.

    Christmas, here I come!

    And now, I have a confession to make. I bought… cashmere.

    Webs has some Gedifra cashmere on closeout, and for once I could find a color I can live with. So, I jumped.

    I’ve been eying the cashmere wraps at Nordstrom for weeks, and I almost bought one, except John was with me, and well, you know… my relationship with the credit card is a little strained when the husband is around, so I didn’t. But, I figure I can make my own wrap. Now, to choose a pattern… any ideas?

    I need some ideas on something else as well. Next week we’re having a holiday brunch/luncheon at work. My boss is the queen of breakfast casserole, and another coworker is famous for her quiche. So, I’d like to make some sort of breakfasty/lunchy side dish in my crockpot, so that it’s easy to do overnight and can be lugged to the office and plugged in. No pork. (Drat!) Any ideas? Please let me know…

    Anyway, I’ve got a sick kid so I’m headed to bed early so I’ll have energy for him tomorrow. That, and I’m crazy behind on some projects at work so I’ll be juggling lots of stuff over the next couple days. Wish me luck!

  • Hat Happy

    The sock is going well, thank you, but I need a change of pace for the holidays. So, I have decided that the sock is what comes with me in the car on a daily basis (I’m not the driver, don’t worry!) and that I need a different project to work on at home. So I decided to cast on for an old favorite hat:

    Hat Ribbing with other colors in the background
    Hat Ribbing with other colors in the background

    This is the “Long Winter’s Nap” hat by Brian Kohler, which was done for Knit Picks in 2005. Sadly the pattern is no longer available. Please don’t ask me for it either, as the copyright is now solely in the hands of the designer. I don’t know if he plans to re-release it or not.

    I loved knitting this hat, but even though I worked it at a fairly tight gauge, the original hat I made still came out too loose for my head. So this one I began the ribbing with fewer stitches at a tighter gauge. I’ll increase to the number of stitches needed for the pattern after I’m done with the hat band.

    The other thing I am going to try with this version? Stripes. It means doing rounds of plain stockinette between the pattern repeats to hide the color transitions better, but we’ll see how it goes. I think it’s going to be an adventure. I hope I get it done in time to be able to wear it for Christmas.

    For the yarn I’m using Cascade 220 in a natural color for the ribbing band and pom pom, and then alternating colors 2425 (rust) and 9338 (olive heather) for sort of an antique faded-looking red and green. At least that’s what I’m seeing in my head! Time will tell whether I have have a workable idea. Wish me luck…

    I’ve been having the urge to write again. Not just about knitting, but lots of things. When I was younger I wrote short stories and essays and poetry, a lot. I filled notebooks with my writing. I’d like to try my hand at writing again. Sometimes I wonder whether age and a half lifetime of technical and marketing writing has sapped the creativity right out of me. But I guess I don’t know what will happen unless I try, right? So, occasionally this blog might contain other types of entries, just for fun, and I hope you’ll bear with me if I do veer away from knitting every once in a blue moon. I can’t even say it’s going to happen soon, because writing well takes a while, but if it does, I hope you won’t mind.

    In the meantime I’ve got lots of knitting to do. It feels good to be making progress again.