Wednesday, January 11, 2012

DIAPHONOUS HEAVEN!!




As I have previously stated, I love yarn.  I am very partial to yarn that is natural.  I know that it isn't for everyone and acrylic yarn certainly has it's place in certain situations.  There are many people that can't or just won't wear or use wool in a project.  Acrylic is great for afghans that will be used and washed over and over again.  That's not to say wool blankets can't be used and washed over and over again- they just need a little more thought about cleaning them.  Acrylic is great for items that will be made for babies and is great for items such as hats, blankets and sweaters.  They do have delicate skin after all!  But I love wool-whether it's Merino, Mohair, Cashmere, Alpaca, Vicuna(type of smaller Alpaca-highly prized for it's wool) and for the very lucky.... Qiviuk (Musk Ox). 



I bought some Qiviuk while in Banff last June and still have to knit it- just waiting for the right moment to hit me.  It cost $65.00 for 1 ball!!




It will be worth every penny.  You have never felt something so soft.  But this is getting me off topic.
For my Birthday which was just before Christmas I purchased for that said birthday a little gift for myself.  My lovely Husband even came with me to the yarn store.  Now that is Love my friends!  If you ever get the chance and you are a yarn nut- and I mean that with love- go check out The Needle Emporium it is located in Ancaster, On.  I love that store. It also has on online presence as well.  It is as if I died and went to heaven!!  The ball I purchased is:



Isn't she beautiful?  I bought the "Cool" colourway.  She and other colourways can be purchased at The Needle Emporium or Spun (another great yarn store right here in Burlington, On).  She cost $29.99 and was worth it-VERY.  If you have never had the pleasure of knitting with Kidsilk Haze, let me just say it is so worth a little work for the end product.  Mohair isn't too difficult-you just have to know how to handle her is all. And this isn't just any Mohair-it is Kid Mohair and Silk. The combination of the two is like nothing else.  I have made a cowl in the plain Kidsilk Haze and when you wear it-you don't even know you are wearing it- it is so light and non itchy-it is a DREAM. 


What makes the Kidsilk Haze Stripe so special is that the colours were done by none other than the man of colour knitting himself --  Kaffe Fassett!

                                                                     Kaffe Fassett

I won't go into great detail about the man-that will be for another time.  If you are into textiles at all, then you already know of him.  His use of colour is beyond anything.  Just seeing one of his projects whether it is needlepoint, yarn or knitting just brings me JOY!!
When I purchased the ball of Kidsilk Haze Stripe I carried it all the way home in the car on my lap.  Thank goodness Den came with me to buy it so that I could admire it all the way home (only 25 mins. by car) but still it was a great way to spend 25 mins!  When we got home I wanted to start right away but alas, I had to wait a little while. It was a busy time of the year what with Christmas and all.  But that being said I was able to squeeze in some time with that lovely ball of candy, I mean yarn!  
The ball came with a scarf pattern- I followed it mostly.  The only difference being, I didn't do any ribbing at the beginning or end, I just casted on.  And instead of Moss Stitch at the edging I did Garter Stitch.  For those of you that do not knit this may sound "gibberish", but to those of us who knit, it
does make sense.  This is what the pattern looks like- NO that is not me!



 The Basic Pattern that I did :
25cm x 190cm  It's just a long rectangle
1 ball of Kidsilk Haze ("cool" colourway was used)
5mm needle, 6mm needle

Cast on with 51 sts with 6mm needle and change to 5mm.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K5, P41, K5
Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until ball is nearly finished
CO.
Weave in ends.
This pattern couldn't be more simple- I basically followed the pattern provided except for a couple of minor changes that I spoke of earlier.  And here it is
















Forgive the multitude of pictures,  it's just that this yarn has such a beautiful variegation. You have to show multiple areas of the scarf to really appreciate it.  When I get a chance to have a picture taken with it on, I will post it.
I chose to knit this scarf in a very plain pattern.  I wanted the beauty of the yarn to show through for me.  There are others that did different things with the yarn that is just as equally gorgeous.  You just have to pick a project that that isn't too complicated ie. cables or highly textured.  The yarn is beautiful on it's own it doesn't need all the bells and whistles for it to show beautifully. This is just my opinion.  Here are some examples of other patterns:







I would have to say out of all the patterns available this from Rowan for this yarn, the one above is my favourite- and not just because we share the same name!  This Poncho would be so light to wear.  I can't even tell you how light this yarn really is.  The colourway that was used would be my choice- it is the "cool" colourway- just look at the striping. 
















I also wanted to show all of the available colourways that this yarn comes in.  See below:




Well, that's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed seeing this gorgeous yarn.  Talk to you soon. Have a great day
Megan

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