Yarn porn, fall colors, Clapotis, mean lace
And they say money can't buy happiness.
My WEBS order arrived:
That's:
- Debbie Bliss Merino DK in a seal grey, turquoise, and grassy green. I'm thinking it might make for some pretty colorwork. The grey is darker than it looked online, but I still like it.
- Plassard Coto-lin in pink, brown, and tan
- Not shown: the yarn I bought for my one-skein secret pal (not going to spill it yet).
I'm a touch disappointed; they were out of stock in two of the yarns I ordered, but didn't tell me before shipping. As a result, I'm short one ball of coto-lin for the striped Tivoli I had in mind. If they had called, I would have asked them to substitute another color. Now, I have to place another order for it (and pay for shipping). Next time, I'll make a note to that effect in the comments field when I order. Overall, I'm happy with WEBS though.
As well as a box from KnitPicks with summer closeouts and sample balls from their fall line:
top-to-bottom, that's:
- a whole lotta Main Line (love that yarn; looks a little luxer than Shine)
- Quarry (lightweight alpaca/wool bouclee. The colors are much more vibrant than they look on screen.)
- Suri Dream Handpaint
- Telemark ("good, stout" Peruvian wool in sportweight for colorwork. It's funny; the non-luxury yarns at Knitpicks are always a lot softer than I expect. This one is not soft, but it is not rough or itchy. I wouldn't wear it against the skin, but it also won't be exfoliating my neck like my Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed.)
- Swish superwash (again, pretty stinking soft for regular wool. And washable is *really* useful.)
- Twirl (bulky alpaca/wool boucle. This is not a new yarn, but it's my first ball of it, so I say it counts)
- Gloss (silk/merino fingering weight. Meant for socks, but might make a beautiful lacey or mini-cabled sweater.)
FALL COLORS:
I have to say, I love the colors I picked out. I didn't intend to coordinate them, but I just love the combination of brown, teal/turquoise, rich red. I think I have a fall wardrobe pallette right in front of me, don't you?
- they are all gorgeous colors
- they all say "fall" to me
- I finally found a shade of brown I can wear (the more chestnutty, reddish browns, rather than the more yellowey browns)
- Most of my summer clothese have that brown in it or coordinate (and so will transition into this pallete)
- I bought a pair of adorable and comfy brown suede mary jane wedges on clearance over the summer, which will do beautifully.
Now, I don't usually think of a seasonal pallette, or even do enough shopping in any given season to enforce one. But:
- the pants I've been wearing since 2002 are wearing out (I had several pairs)
- I'm half a size smaller than I used to be (and have my eye on the other half), so I might need more new clothes than usual this fall
- I'm in the mood for some serious knitting this fall, including a couple of pattern ideas.
I think that calls for some planning.
CLAPOTIS:
In other news, Clapotis #3 is done (but I forgot to photograph it, and I'm not going downstairs right now). I'm going to gently spritz-block it before dropping the ladders to see if that would soften up the yarn. MCY silk/merino isn't as buttery as Lion & Lamb, but it's still very nice. I'm hoping a little bit of bloom will improve it.
MEAN LACE:
In still other news, I have started and scrapped by first lace project. I tried to make a mini, scarf-sized Print o' the Wave for my one-skein secret pal. The last thing you send is something you made for them out of one skein of yarn. I figured laceweight yarn goes a long way, so I gave it a shot. I expected to love lace (lots of opportunity for geekiness), but it made me really, really tense. I had a really hard time holding the needles and the fine yarn. Part of the problem is that I let go of the left needle a bit when I purl. I did better when I tried purling as for combination knitting, but I haven't gotten the hang of how to do slanted decreases in combo yet. The other part of the problem is that my only size 3 needles are aluminum, and I'm used to working on casseine: metal is heavier and slipperier. After about an hour of swearing and increased adrenaline, by husband gently suggested that I make something else. He's so smart.
My WEBS order arrived:
That's:
- Debbie Bliss Merino DK in a seal grey, turquoise, and grassy green. I'm thinking it might make for some pretty colorwork. The grey is darker than it looked online, but I still like it.
- Plassard Coto-lin in pink, brown, and tan
- Not shown: the yarn I bought for my one-skein secret pal (not going to spill it yet).
I'm a touch disappointed; they were out of stock in two of the yarns I ordered, but didn't tell me before shipping. As a result, I'm short one ball of coto-lin for the striped Tivoli I had in mind. If they had called, I would have asked them to substitute another color. Now, I have to place another order for it (and pay for shipping). Next time, I'll make a note to that effect in the comments field when I order. Overall, I'm happy with WEBS though.
As well as a box from KnitPicks with summer closeouts and sample balls from their fall line:
top-to-bottom, that's:
- a whole lotta Main Line (love that yarn; looks a little luxer than Shine)
- Quarry (lightweight alpaca/wool bouclee. The colors are much more vibrant than they look on screen.)
- Suri Dream Handpaint
- Telemark ("good, stout" Peruvian wool in sportweight for colorwork. It's funny; the non-luxury yarns at Knitpicks are always a lot softer than I expect. This one is not soft, but it is not rough or itchy. I wouldn't wear it against the skin, but it also won't be exfoliating my neck like my Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed.)
- Swish superwash (again, pretty stinking soft for regular wool. And washable is *really* useful.)
- Twirl (bulky alpaca/wool boucle. This is not a new yarn, but it's my first ball of it, so I say it counts)
- Gloss (silk/merino fingering weight. Meant for socks, but might make a beautiful lacey or mini-cabled sweater.)
FALL COLORS:
I have to say, I love the colors I picked out. I didn't intend to coordinate them, but I just love the combination of brown, teal/turquoise, rich red. I think I have a fall wardrobe pallette right in front of me, don't you?
- they are all gorgeous colors
- they all say "fall" to me
- I finally found a shade of brown I can wear (the more chestnutty, reddish browns, rather than the more yellowey browns)
- Most of my summer clothese have that brown in it or coordinate (and so will transition into this pallete)
- I bought a pair of adorable and comfy brown suede mary jane wedges on clearance over the summer, which will do beautifully.
Now, I don't usually think of a seasonal pallette, or even do enough shopping in any given season to enforce one. But:
- the pants I've been wearing since 2002 are wearing out (I had several pairs)
- I'm half a size smaller than I used to be (and have my eye on the other half), so I might need more new clothes than usual this fall
- I'm in the mood for some serious knitting this fall, including a couple of pattern ideas.
I think that calls for some planning.
CLAPOTIS:
In other news, Clapotis #3 is done (but I forgot to photograph it, and I'm not going downstairs right now). I'm going to gently spritz-block it before dropping the ladders to see if that would soften up the yarn. MCY silk/merino isn't as buttery as Lion & Lamb, but it's still very nice. I'm hoping a little bit of bloom will improve it.
MEAN LACE:
In still other news, I have started and scrapped by first lace project. I tried to make a mini, scarf-sized Print o' the Wave for my one-skein secret pal. The last thing you send is something you made for them out of one skein of yarn. I figured laceweight yarn goes a long way, so I gave it a shot. I expected to love lace (lots of opportunity for geekiness), but it made me really, really tense. I had a really hard time holding the needles and the fine yarn. Part of the problem is that I let go of the left needle a bit when I purl. I did better when I tried purling as for combination knitting, but I haven't gotten the hang of how to do slanted decreases in combo yet. The other part of the problem is that my only size 3 needles are aluminum, and I'm used to working on casseine: metal is heavier and slipperier. After about an hour of swearing and increased adrenaline, by husband gently suggested that I make something else. He's so smart.
posted by Nadira at Wednesday, August 02, 2006
2 Comments:
Love the yarn. I thought about you as I untangled the mess I made from the beaut-imous yarn you dyed for me. It is all wound up now. How does it tangle so badly? I have to be in the mood to detangle.
Glad to have you back. Does this mean the learning curve on the new job is less steep?
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