More new Koigu!
Folks, I think my Koigu problem is only getting worse, not better. Here's the batch I couldn't say no to yesterday, and I'm almost 100% sure that one of these colors is already in my stash. And I thought of that before I bought it, and bought it anyway. They're just so pretty!
I'm definitely making a shawlette for me out of the 410 (the purplish red color on the bottom left), maybe my next design will use this color. It's a perfect blend for me, dark enough to not wash me out and colorful enough to not be boring to knit with! And as a bonus, it seems to photograph well, which is something I so struggle with when it comes to knitting designs in colors I want to wear. Seems like a winner all around! And yes, that's the one I'm pretty sure I already own . . .
I'm going to a wedding in Vermont this weekend so that'll be like 10 hours of car knitting roundtrip, most of it with daylight . . . gotta plan what I'm bringing to knit so I don't end up bored and/or running out! That would be just awful.
How to minimize the two-row juggle
As I'm sure you've all noticed, I tend to use handpainted yarns more often than not. Most of the time when you're knitting a project that will use more than one ball of handpainted yarn, the look of your finished project can greatly benefit from alternating skeins. This is nothing new -- I'm pretty sure you're all familiar with the concept of working from 2 skeins at a time, working a couple of rows with one, then switching to the other and carrying the yarn up the side. Right?
Well, if you've done it even half as much as I have, you also know what a giant PITA it is to do it! The strands tangle, the edge can pucker (or just as bad, spread out!), and if you travel and knit like I do, carrying two balls is more than twice as annoying as carrying just the one. Which is where this simple-yet-awesome tip comes in, and it's so amazing that I thought it deserved its own post!
See how drastically different the size of these two balls of yarn is? This is my laceweight Leila shawl (now finished, thankyouverymuch!), which is knit out of Malabrigo Laceweight. The two skeins were pretty close to begin with, but one definitely had slightly longer color patches than the other and I was sure I'd be able to see it in the finished product if I didn't blend the two balls together. But I really didn't want to have to carry both balls around, so I went with the compromise:
Start with just one ball and knit to about the half-way point of that ball (it doesn't need to be exact, just eyeball it). Then join the second ball and do 2 rows from one, 2 rows from the other, until ball #1 is done. Then just continue on with ball #2!
The beauty of this simple trick is that it saves about 50% of the 2-ball knitting, but it blends the two colors so thoroughly that you can't tell the difference! I wouldn't use this "cheat" if the two skeins were drastically different (well, unless the visible blending effect would add to the finished project, which it totally could!), but if they're pretty close this trick will save you tons of frustration and untangling.
I like this so much, I'm using it on my next project already . . . but more on that next time! I can tell you it's Koigu, though . . .
Wow, this kit is so gorgeous!
I just stumbled across this Babette Blanket yarn pack from Yarnzilla and the above photo is so gorgeous, I am seriously considering ordering it! I've never bought anything from Yarnzilla before but I see they offer discounts based on price (the way WEBS does), so assuming you'd get the 25% discount, you could buy this pack for only $222.75! That's a really great price, and just look at those colors! But I can't tell from the website description whether the discount applies to yarn packs . . . although you would think it does, after all what's the difference between ordering 22 skeins of koigu or ordering this yarn pack, right?
This is crazy, I do not need another 22 skeins of Koigu! Must. Resist.
They only have 2 kits in stock -- can someone else please go buy them before I lose my mind?
Pretty, pretty Koigu, the best retail therapy!
Bad cold plus grumpy mood = need for retail therapy! This color of Koigu KPM had to come home with me . . . such a gorgeous shade of orange sherbert! If only I knew someone having a little girl, I would definitely use this for a baby gift! Oh well, guess I'll have to knit something for myself then . . .
(color is 1113, btw)
I can knit laceweight now!
Hold the presses everyone! This is MAJOR news!
After an entire knitting career where I couldn't hold a strand of yarn much thinner than fingering weight, as of yesterday afternoon I can knit with laceweight yarn! The picture above is yet another Leila sample (I'm insane, I know!), this time knit with Malabrigo Laceweight on size 3 needles. This lace yarn is the ONLY laceweight yarn in my stash, bought solely because it was so gorgeous I couldn't NOT buy it. The color (it's 92 - Little Lovely) spoke to me and said "buy me just to look at me!" and I just couldn't resist. I even wound one ball, just to see how the colors would play together in the actual knitting, but then I stuck the yarn on a shelf and never intended to try to knit with it, ever.
Fast-forward to yesterday, when I was trying to edit the full-size version of the Leila pattern and I got stuck. After getting really annoyed with myself, I decided there was no way around knitting the full-size version again to double-check the pattern before sending it to the testers . . . but then I realized I had nothing in the stash that was the same gauge as the Fleece Artist Cashlana I had used other than the exact same color Cashlana. And there was no way I was knitting the exact same shawl with the exact same yarn and color! Even in the interest of an error-free pattern, that was too much for me. So I went digging for something else in the "thinner than fingering" category and found these two skeins of laceweight and thought I might as well try it.
After fumbling through the first few rows, I found that my hand wasn't really hurting, so I continued on. After about an hour, I still had no pain or cramping, so I thought maybe this was really for real. And then after finishing the first set of lace, I knew it was true!
I can knit with laceweight yarn now!
I am so excited, I cannot even tell you. Oh, the new stash enhancement potentials . . . they are calling me!
And Malabrigo laceweight? Even better than regular Malabrigo. Really.
