An Experiment
Hypothesis: The Icelandic Unspun will be a suitable yarn for an adult-sized Girasole blanket.
Materials and Methods: Size 9 DPNs, light pink Unspun, Chart A of the Girasole pattern
Phase I Results:
Preliminary results support acceptance of the above hypothesis. Phase II includes a knitted picot edge, a good soak, and blocking.
Discussion: I'm really surprised at how easy it is to work with this yarn. I've never used it before, and had heard that it's a challenge not to pull it apart as it's worked; after all, it's essentially pencil roving. I got the yarn from a former colleague, whose mother had given it to her after becoming disillusioned with ideas of felting. I have five colors - light pink, dark pink, medium blue, a natural brown, and some natural white. I'm thinking there is enough of the pinks, blue, and accent color (brown? white? dyed white?) for a blanket, but I have no sense yet of how this will all come together.
Not only is this yarn more durable than I'd imagined, but it's also lovely to work with; I even managed to execute Emily Ocker's Circular Cast-On without any issues. It feels nice on my hands, is still a little bit sheepey, and acts like something just between worsted and bulky weight. I can't wait to see how it looks after finishing. More to come!
I continue to knit furiously on the Audrey Hepburn, and am nearly at the end of the first ball of Kidsilk Haze. I thought that this amount of beads would pull too much on the fabric, but this stuff is quite resilient.
In other news - our HVAC guy worked his magic again and we have heat now in all zones (just in time for some cold weather to sweep through later this week). The pump that sends the hot water to the master bedroom had seized up during the summer; he replaced it and we'll keep the first one as an emergency back-up (we have three of these in total, one for each heating zone). He does need to order a part for the oil thingey, since it developed a slow leak about a week ago - but we're good to go in the meantime! (I'm still keeping the Cuddlee nearby, though!)
Materials and Methods: Size 9 DPNs, light pink Unspun, Chart A of the Girasole pattern
Phase I Results:
Preliminary results support acceptance of the above hypothesis. Phase II includes a knitted picot edge, a good soak, and blocking.
Discussion: I'm really surprised at how easy it is to work with this yarn. I've never used it before, and had heard that it's a challenge not to pull it apart as it's worked; after all, it's essentially pencil roving. I got the yarn from a former colleague, whose mother had given it to her after becoming disillusioned with ideas of felting. I have five colors - light pink, dark pink, medium blue, a natural brown, and some natural white. I'm thinking there is enough of the pinks, blue, and accent color (brown? white? dyed white?) for a blanket, but I have no sense yet of how this will all come together.
Not only is this yarn more durable than I'd imagined, but it's also lovely to work with; I even managed to execute Emily Ocker's Circular Cast-On without any issues. It feels nice on my hands, is still a little bit sheepey, and acts like something just between worsted and bulky weight. I can't wait to see how it looks after finishing. More to come!
I continue to knit furiously on the Audrey Hepburn, and am nearly at the end of the first ball of Kidsilk Haze. I thought that this amount of beads would pull too much on the fabric, but this stuff is quite resilient.
In other news - our HVAC guy worked his magic again and we have heat now in all zones (just in time for some cold weather to sweep through later this week). The pump that sends the hot water to the master bedroom had seized up during the summer; he replaced it and we'll keep the first one as an emergency back-up (we have three of these in total, one for each heating zone). He does need to order a part for the oil thingey, since it developed a slow leak about a week ago - but we're good to go in the meantime! (I'm still keeping the Cuddlee nearby, though!)
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