Purlwise

On the flip side

The flip side is done. Sleeves will be cast on today after a bit of head scratching yesterday.

We've learned how to calculate increases from the wrist to the underarm - that's no problem. We've learned how to sew seams between stockinette stitches. What I don't quite get is how to handle increases when using a stitch pattern. Is the edge stitch still done in stockinette? What happens if the increase stitch falls in an awkward place in the pattern stitch? Mine has some twisted stitches.

Not quite sure about these questions. I'll just cast on and give it a shot. After all, I can always rip it out later.

Over the Christmas holidays several family members asked about the red string at the bottom. I thought I'd mention it in case others might wonder. It's a provisional cast on. When the top half is finished I'll pull out the red string and put these stitches on a needle and then work the ribbing from there down. So, no, the red string is not part of the design.

And for something different ...

....  Campion / Spindrift trivia

There's not just one autumn.

To the right (in the hank) is autumn #5. Perhaps the original autumn?

Top left is autumn #261. One that is found on many AS color cards.

Bottom left is autumn #1100. Looks a lot like the Shetland Heathered Aran color called hairst. If only it was produced in Spindrift as well. What a lovely complex color. Hairst is another word for autumn (according to the Shetland Museum's website).

A Kauni craze ?

Gosh, when I first saw this yarn on Anni's blog, Hyldemor Knits, I knew I had to have some.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the response it's gotten from other knitters in North America. Many are just as intrigued with this yarn and Ruth's pattern as I am.

It took me several months to get the gumption to order it from wollsucht.de, as I don't speak or read German. I've heard through the grapevine that they're no longer shipping it to the US but I haven't confirmed that. I had no trouble ordering it from them, although shipping from Germany seems to be quite expensive compared to other European countries.

I've also heard that garnbutik.dk is selling kits for the cardigan and will ship to the US. I've never purchased anything from this website so I can't vouch for the service.

The colorway is EQ. They have many others.

Now, won't somebody in the US please carry this yarn?

Or hey, this would make a great dye + spin + knit project for all you that do all three.

Update:
There's another online shop that will ship Kauni to North America. It's Astrid's Dutch Obessions and the website is in English. I haven't ordered from her before so I can't vouch for the service but I have seen her postings on Knitter's Review under "Sales and Shop News". I'm glad that there's one more source out there for us on the other side of the pond.

One skein Mountain Goat crew socks

For the past year or so, I've been tempted to make a pair of heavy crew socks from Mountain Goat but didn't give into the temptation because I figured socks would take two skeins.  Despite the beautiful colors, I just wasn't willing to spend $40 for a pair of socks  (Mountain Goat sells for around $20 a skein).

Last month, I ended up with an extra ball of yarn from the kitty hat project and decided to return it for something else. Well, the only thing in the store that attracted my attention  was the Mountain Goat. I finally gave in and decided to get only one skein and see how far it would go.

I easily got a pair of socks (women's US shoe size 8) out of one skein.

To keep track of how much yarn I was using and to determine the half way point, I decided to weigh the yarn ball at various stages.  At the start the ball weighed 118 gms and upon completion it was 8 gms.

After wearing these socks a few times I can report that they are quite warm and comfortable; perfect for Birkenstock's or clog.  The only potential down side to this yarn is, that as the heel and foot of the sock rubs against the shoe, fibers seem to lift out of the yarn and create areas of fuzzy clumps.

project notes

Handspun & Morehouse Merino

Can you guess which part of this swatch is handspun and which is not?

The top half is my latest sample of handspun merino top and the bottom half is Morehouse Farm 2-ply merino.

Morehouse Merino
2-ply Sport Weight Info

plied wraps per inch = 15
plied twists per inch = 7
McMorran Balance = 14 inches
Needle = 3.0mm
Gauge = 24 sts x 30 rows per 4 inches

Almost exactly the same specifications that I'd like to achieve with the merino that I'll be using for the Spin-Off sweater!

So what is the Morehouse Merino like? Well, it's not as soft as I thought it would be and definitely not as soft as Koigu. Even my handspun is softer (yeah).

My first unwashed swatch was done on with size 3.25mm needles, and produced a slightly stiff and uneven fabric. The stitches became tighter and more even when I switched to 3.0mm needles. Perhaps the stitches would look better after washing but I haven't had a chance to do a wash test. As you can tell, I'm not too impressed with this yarn. Chances are that it will become a lonely ball at the bottom of my knitting basket reserved as a good point of reference.

Buttons

The Lace Cardigan hasn't made it out of the knitting bag for a couple of days now so it's time to get quick gratification. I passed up mounds of pastel yarns in the baby section for this bright sport weight yarn. It's made of 83% wool and 17% polyester effect yarn. The effect yarn is actually a thread with slubs* which has been plied with three other strands of wool. The swatch comes out to 24 sts X 32 rows for a 10cm square, knitted on size 3.25mm needles, almost exactly what I'm aiming to get from the merino top that I'll be spinning for the Spin-Off sweater.

*a soft thick uneven section in a yarn or thread -from www.m-w.com

Yarn Construction

Bergereine is unlike any yarn that I've used.

Of course, being a new spinner, I took apart a piece to see how it was made. It's constructed with 4-ply strands of 3-ply yarn. Each 3-ply yarn is made of two strands of cotton thread and one strand of wool.

It knits nicely but is not so easy to rip out since the small strands of cotton tend to get easily snagged by the needle. The fabric has the feel of soft cotton and the stretch of wool, so it should make a comfortable summer sweater.

I'll be casting on a piece this week - probably a sleeve. Yep, I'm knitting this one in pieces instead of adjusting it to knit in the round. It will be so much easier to take along with me if I knit in pieces.