Yippity ding dong, my WEBS yarn arrived!
Isn’t it glorious?
Here, let me get you acquainted.
Jade Sapphire
Mongolian Cashmere
Colorway 50, Driftwood
On the left we have the amazing Mongolian Cashmere, made by Jade Sapphire, in colorway 50, Driftwood.
Oh yes, we’re feeling very posh with this splurge for a friend’s b-day gift - it’s a big birthday, so she’s going to get 100% cashmere. And at a 25% discount for me, thank you very much, Kathy and Co!
The project of my desire, about which I will blog once I’ve cast on, is the Sheer Poncho. This is a design that I initially drooled over here after having found it on Ravelry here.
Cascade Fixation
Color 3919, Maroon
Next we move into the Cascade Fixation portion of my stash-building order. There was a closeout on Maroon (color 3919) so I decided to dive in. I’ve not knitted before with Fixation, but I hear it’s quite unique in its springiness. I’d like to try some socks with it, so I ordered just a bit…OK, in a second color, too - Yankee Red (color 3628). Yankers was not on sale - but what the hey - in for a penny, in for a pound.
Cascade Fixation
Color 3628, Yankee Red
The Yankee Red is a bit on the Fire Engine side for me, but I’m thinking it might be really nice for Maizy, who is a Fire Engine Red kind of girl. The Maroon I really like, because I like…things that are maroon.
Maroon. Marooooon. Another word that gets funny if you say or spell it a lot. Maroooooon.
It’s been a long day.
On the right you’ll see the nice pile o’ yarn that will be known in the future as Little K’s baby blanket à la Curlicue. The to-die-for Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton is organically grown and truly luscious, certainly in the vibrance of its color (617, Lotus) but also in the feels-like-your-fingers-are-sinking-into-it plushness. It’s uber-fabulous, all of it.
I swatched a bit in preparation for Curlicue cast-on; not that a swatch is absolutely necessary for a baby blanket, but I’m a little picky about baby blanket dimensions (I like ‘em intentionally generously-sized and not accidentally teddy-bear sized).
Top third stitched with US 5,
Middle third with US 6,
Bottom third with US 7
The yarn label says US 7-9 will yield 4-5 stitches/inch. I’m wanting to stitches a bit on the tighter side so that my lace pattern is sure to pop. I started with a 7 and came in at about 4.5 st/in. Decided to tighten it up and gave it a shot with a 6, then with a 5. Although the tension looks more pleasing to my eye with the smaller needle, the fabric didn’t change much in actual gauge; it’s still in the 4.5-4.75 st/in range.
So, I’ll probably go with the US 5. I’ll run a few inches of the pattern on my swatch and then stick a fork in that decision (I dilly-dally around a lot, don’t I?).
The design calls for a repeating 11+1 pattern, so rather than the 100 stitches called for, I’ll up it to 122 and yield a blanket right around 26-27 inches wide. Then block it heavily if it’s not big enough in the end to feed my fatty blanket beast.
One more set of yarn introductions will round out my lot this time, all from Valley Yarns. It’s the sock-weight Huntington, in three hues. Red (4150), grey (0605), and chocolate (B118): these were the short-sock color possibilities suggested by Squeezer, if I were to knit, say, a gift or three for her.
Valley Yarns Huntington
Color 4150, Red
I have to say I’m in love with this red. Really in love with it. I’d call it a deep red, but not an earthy one. I’m no color expert, but to my eye it’s got less of the orangey undertone and more of the blue.
Sidenote: I probably wouldn’t have said anything about blue undertones if I hadn’t had accidentally and briefly met someone who apparently knows more about undertones that I do, which thereby empowered me with an “eye for color” I don’t really have. Backstory: I have an Ann Taylor sweater in this shade that has been a staple in my winter wardrobe for a couple of seasons, and once in an elevator in Boston a woman randomly complimented the color and said, “Oh, honey, the blue undertones in that red really suit your complexion.” Which was a really nice thing to say. And this shade of red reminds me of that sweater.
Anyloo-hoo - this is my last planned yarn purchase this year. I’ve really gotta cool it until next year as I’ve got a nice stash to bust between here and there.
[sigh]
I guess I better get knitting so I don’t get distracted by another yarn sale.
