I'm so weak
I swore, SWORE, I wasn't buying any more yarn until I'd completed the THREE projects I have on needles right now, one of which is a throw blanket so it's quite LARGE.
However, I am weak. I was at a local crafts fair and saw a booth boasting handspun yarn. I told myself not to approach it but I did. Then I went all the way into the booth. There was Linda Doucette, the owner and spinner of Shades of Nature, spinning away. On the table beside her was the hank of yarn below:
The photo doesn't do it justice. It has beads and all different colors spun in, some thin strands, some fat strands. Well, I fell in love and, with fear and trembling, asked Linda how much it cost. She looked surprised. "Oh that? It's just something I was experimenting with. Do you think $10 is fair?" Fair? I had expected three times that. I grabbed it and then went in search of some complementary yarn, choosing this gorgeous angora and wool combination:
So now I have 80 yards of the funky variegated yarn and 200 yards of the purple angora/wool combo.
Does anybody have any ideas what I might do with it? I want to showcase the funky yarn somehow but I'm not a creative enough knitter to figure out how. Help!!!
Labels: handspun
posted by Nancy Herkness at 3:52 PM
9 Comments:
Hmmm: How about a rectangular stole or triangular shawl, with thin (ish)lengthwise stripes of the accent yarn???
I say thin(ish) because you want to maximize the use of the pretty stuff, yet get a good size stole overall.
I have a friend who swears by using the Fibonaci series for determining the number of rows for her stripes. Her garments always look amazing, so there must be something to it.
You could add some more visual texture by using larger needles to have a more "open" appeal.
Whatever you make is going to be very stunning! It is beautiful yarn.
Funky yarns often show to best effect in purl stitches (the beads and what not pop up more that way). I don't know *what* I'd make with that yarn but I do know what stitch pattern I'd start with: the variety of feather and fan the has one purl ridge.
Basically it's: knit a row, purl a row, lace row (k2tog x3, yo k1 x6, ssk x3), knit a row - this last row is the one I'd do with the special yarn. The other three rows would be the plainer yarn.
I think whatever you end up making will be gorgeous in that yarn.
You guys are amazing, as always! Fibonaci series and feather and fan stitch: two things I've never attempted in knitting. You continually broaden my horizons. Now I'm hugely excited about experimenting with my funky handspun. Thank you, thank you!
What weight is it? It's gorgeous. Mayhaps you could do an Irish Hiking Scarf?
I'd do one of those cowls; with that angora blend, it would be so soft and warm around your neck! And do it in feather and fan like the others suggested... Dainty and beautiful...
Maybe entrelac - a scarf? It really shows off a handspun yarn nicely
Nancy, my immediate reaction (after saying oooohhhh, beautiful, that is) was that it looks like yarn you might see in a Jane Thornley project -- gorgeous and interesting. Check her website at http://www.janethornley.com/blog/index.php/site/index/
What I do with thick/thin yarns usually involves seed st scarves but I don't know that you want a scarf from these. Probably something that would be more visible.
I would guess a cowl or moebius scarf would showcase the fancy yarn best. with the moebius you could cast on with the plain yarn then add the fancy til it runs out then finish with the plain. See Cat Bordhi's book for easy directions.
Wow! There are more great ideas here every time I check back. I'm printing out everything you say so I can experiment once I'm ready to work with this fun yarn. It will be my reward for finishing one of the three projects currently on-needle.
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