Today is the last day of Knit and Crochet Blog Week. I have really enjoyed all of the topics, and it's been a lot of fun reading what other people have written about it too. Actually, I found all eight of the available topics very interestine, so today I'm going to talk about both topic number seven, and the wild card topic number eight (you remember, the one you could choose if you didn't want to write about one of the designated daily topics). I'll start with the topic for day seven:
"What a Yarn
There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative."
Oh my. This is a HARD question! There are so many great yarns out there, it's so hard to choose. I think I'm going to have to mention at least two. Maybe more.
My favourite lave yarn is actually pretty easy. I have several skeins of Chili Gredelin's Madame yarn, which is 55 % silk/45 % cashmere in lace weight. This yarn is the softest there is, and the silk makes it a lot stronger than you would think. Chili Gredelin is a swedish dyer in the south of sweden, and if I could afford it, I would ONLY buy her lace yarn. Right now the shop is on hiatus, as the owner has too much else going on in her regular life, but I eagerly await her return. As the shop is down for now, I've linked to the yarn's Ravelry page.
Chili Gredelin, Lingering Spring Colourway
So far I've made my Aeolian shawl with this yarn, and a pair of fingerless gloves of the leftover yarn. I LOVE this shawl, and it's still the most beautiful I've made this far.
Madame Aeolian
Madame Fingerless mitts
I also have three skeins of this yarn in a lovely green colourway, and one lonely skein in a brown colourway.
Chili Gredelin Madame, Forest Fairy colourway
Chili Gredelin Madame, Hazelnut colourway
I'm also going to mention a very cheap yarn that I love, which is KnitPick's Palette yarn. This yarn is so versatile, and it comes in so many colours! I've made mittens and gloves with it, and I have plans for making at least three sweaters/cardigans with it too: Paper Dolls, Little Birds and the St. James Top. The yarn is 100 % wool, and pretty loosely spun, but it has such a great stitch definition, and it will work great with steeks (which the Little Birds pattern entails). I just wish I had a KnitPick's store here in town! Or maybe that's just as well... Once I get my paycheck after the summer (if I get the job, it's not 100 % certain yet), there will definitely be another KnitPick's order in the making!
Anyhow, I have 13 different colours of this yarn in my stash, so I won't show them all. I think my favourite is the one called Fairy Tale, and I'm also going to show you the Conch colourway, which I'm planning on using for the St. James top:
KnitPick's Palette, Fairy Tale colourway
KnitPick's Palette, Conch colourway
I've made a pair of Moose mittens for my grandfather from this yarn, and also the lovely Cat mittens for myself.
Moose mittens
Cat Mittens
Finally, I think I'll mention a yarn that I would really, really love to try out. Well, actually there are two in this category too. The first one is Wollmeise yarn. This yarn is a bit hard to come by, as as soon as the shop website gets updated, it sells out. You have to be there the minute the update comes, or you won't get any. Right now it's a bit out of my price range, but one day I'll be there fighting to get one. The founder of the "10 shawls in 2010" group made a trip to the Wollmeise factory outlet, and came home with over 20 skeins. Maybe I should do that too?
Wollmeise Lace, Sabrina colourway
Photo borrowed from honigschnute's Ravelry stash page
The second yarn I would love to try out is Lorna's Laces lace weight yarn. This yarn is available in Sweden, Garnkorgen stocks it, but it's so incredibly expensive, almost $50 a skein. I love the colurs though, and maybe I'll get to order one for my birthday?
Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace, Mint colourway
Photo borrowed from Garnkorgen
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Now, on to the second topic for today, the wild card topic:
"All Tooled Up
"All Tooled Up
Do you have a particular knitting/crochet tool or piece of equipment that you love to use? Maybe it is an old bent pair of needles that used to belong to someone special, or a gorgeous rosewood hand-turned crochet hook that you just love the feel of? Write about what you love it."
Yes, I have some favourite tools, but I'm only going to mention one. I LOVE my KnitPick's Harmony needles! I have a full set of interchangeables, ranging from 3.5 mm up to 11 mm (I bought the chunky extra needles too, God only knows when I'll use them. When did you last see me knit on chunky needles?!), and I have the fixed circulars from 2 mm up to 3 mm. I also have DPN's from 2 mm up to 8 mm, and four sets of glove DPN's (they are only 10 cm long) from 2 mm up to 3.5 mm. Before I bought my first set I had never knitted with wood before, I only used plastic or metallic needles. Now I can't even imagine going back!
I also have a set of KnitPick's Zephyr Needles (the clear acrylic ones) ranging from 3.75 mm up to 8 mm, but I've hardly used them. I just love my wooden needles too much! Also, I've almost only knitted on needles finer than 3.75 mm this year, so I haven't really had any use for the larger needles. But I'm thinking of casting on for the Owls Sweater soon, and then I'll get to use some bigger needles.
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Ok, that's the end of Knit and Crochet Blog week. It's been great fun, but of course this blog will continue to talk about knitting a lot, as it is a knitting blog!
I'm almost finished with chart 6 on the Sari Lace shawl, and that is the last chart which is three pages wide. Charts 7-9 are two pages each, and chart 10 is only one, so it's only getting easier. I haven't taken any new photos since last time, but it is still looking very pretty! Thomas is having a bit of a hard time, as he can't think of an equally nice gift for his grandmother! I keep telling him that it is actually a gift from both of us, he can say that he bought the yarn :)
Today is very sunny here, so now I'm going to go outside and soak up some warmth!
/ Jenny
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