On Saturday, I was on a mission to find sweater yarn, and I visited not one but two LYSes. First up was Natural Stitches, where I hoped to find a good bulky-weight yarn for the Big Thaw Pullover. Miraculously, I was able to convince The Mister to let me knit him a sweater in a color that wasn't some shade of gray or black; knowing that he had several store-bought sweaters in a taupe-y oatmeal-y color, that was what I suggested. This Cascade Eco Wool got his seal of approval:
In reality, it's a little lighter; in my excitement to photograph it, I did not get the best lighting for the job. In any case, I know this will be a winner for him, as he's quite used to wearing Cascade 220. I'm not really looking forward to winding center-pull balls, though -- 478 yards per skein is going to take quite a while.Next, I was off to Knit One to attempt to use up my remaining gift card on a sweater's worth of yarn for my father (of the EZ seamless variety, to be completed for his birthday in October). I decided to go with the tried-and-true Cascade 220, and a very man-friendly shade of navy blue.
And just so you know I'm not at all consistent in my poor photography, these skeins are actually a lot darker in person!I couldn't leave without a little something for myself, and these two lonely skeins of Rown 4-ply in a steely gray just begged for me to rescue them from the sale bin. At 15% off, it didn't take much convincing. Would you believe this is my first Rowan? Don't worry, I don't plan to make a habit out of it.
My last new yarn for the weekend is probably my favorite, and I'm sure you won't be surprised at all that it's because it's my latest handspun.
I had intended this for Spinning Sunday, but this darn skein took so long to ply that I didn't get around to finishing it until about 9:30 Sunday night. This is 4 oz. of DragonFibers BFL (here's what it looked like as fiber, if you need a reminder) turned into a laceweight two ply. At approximately 485 yards, it's less yardage than I was hoping for, but it still should be enough for a Swallowtail Shawl [Ravelry link], which is what I'd been intending it for.
The colors blended just as I'd hoped -- very subtle barberpoling in some areas, nearly solid in others.
I'm off to post this before Blogger decides to get fussy again. Tomorrow night: Hurricane Knitters, 7 p.m., Waterworks Barnes & Noble, where I will attempt to knit lace while at the S&B.
Tom likes the Big Thaw Pullover, too, I was surprised because it's more plain than what he would usually like!
ReplyDeleteThat handspun is lovely!
ReplyDeleteChris has also approved the Big Thaw pattern. Michelle is planning to re-stock Loft, so I may even get nutty and use the suggested yarn. I can't survive another Cobblestone Incident.
ReplyDeleteoooh, pretty handspun!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the sale bin at KnitOne!!! Glad you had some success on your outing:)
ReplyDeleteHow nice of you to use up gift card credits on sweater yarn for someone else! And great job on the plying!
ReplyDeleteYour handspun is really pretty! And I can just imagine how the colors are for your husband if that color is exciting. :) (But I love the neutrals myself!)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I most definitely approve of the Cascade 220 and Rowan yarn purchases, your handspun is by far the best of any of them. Laceweight spinning already? wow!
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