Gift #598: Lovely yarn

 

Today was a lovely wintry day.  It was a balmy 54  this morning and then a cold front came through that has plunged us back into below-freezing temperatures, along with 40-50 mph winds.  After running some errands I came home and had a mug of hot chocolate and some scones while sitting in front of the fire (yes, the fireplace was on in April).  And then I dreamed of warm, woolen yarns because it feels like winter.  That reminded me that I never shared any pictures of the wonderful yarns that came home from the trip to Cincinnati.  So today you’ll be treated to a mini tour of some of the yarns that found a home in the stash.  I find that when I shop for yarn, I tend to gravitate towards a particular color and then buy an ensemble of yarns within that color family.  This is a completely unconscious behavior – and I don’t buy these yarns to use together – it just tends to be serendipity and I typically don’t even realize till I have them sitting all side by side. The following are members of the “blue family” of yarn.   On the trip I was seized by a sudden, strong affection for navy blue and lime green.  This is evident from the skeins below. I’ve really liked this yarn for a while.  it’s a wide cotton tape yarn, very much like tshirt material.  This yarn will be worked up into a spring/summer weight infinity cowl, with a dropped stitch pattern which will show off the texture and color very well.  (At least the sample looked great).

Another navy blue/lime green beauty called Fame Trend.  This is a sock weight yarn  and more adventurous knitters would indeed use this to make socks.  I’m not a sock knitter (I hope to be someday) and this beautiful yarn will not be hidden on anyone’s foot.  It is most likely destined to become a shawl.   This yarn is what we term a “long-gradient” yarn, meaning that the color changes occur very slowly.  Most of the yarn I have is variegated such that the color changes happen in short intervals, like between 20-50 stitches.  This yarn is unique in that it can create beautiful ombre effects and I’m excited to try it out. From the same company as the above photo, this is the blue/grey/black skein.  I’ve mentioned before that I got really hooked on watching Sherlock this winter and I knew the minute I saw this yarn that it was destined to be my “Sherlock yarn”.  The pattern for this lovely skein is already selected.  Sherlock likes to wear his blue scarf and I’m going to make a long, skinny shawlette from this yarn.  It’s an asymmetrical triangle – the pattern starts at a point and increases to form the triangle base – and it will also have long color gradients.  It’s the feminine version of Sherlock’s scarf. And here’s the last skein, also in a blue/grey colorway.  This yarn is a bulkier, fuzzier wool blend and will be perfect as a cozy cowl, or maybe as a pair of legwarmers.  Its fate has not yet been sealed. I hope you enjoyed seeing my recent additions to the yarn family.  I’ll post pictures as I finish projects, but like most knitters, I tend to buy yarn faster than I knit it.   The solution (to my mind) is to knit faster.  However, it’s not just the physical knitting that brings pleasure, it’s the dreaming of what each yarn can become that’s the real joy. Blessings to you, Sarah