May 5, 2012

Today is Derby Day in my hometown of Louisville, KY. I don't follow the horses but enjoy the celebrations of my hometown. This year I don't even know who is running.

I have been knitting the Sweater for several days and have almost finished the back. A few more rows and I will be ready to shape the shoulders.  I wanted to share a few thoughts I had about this particular yarn. I am using Plymouth Yarn Linen Isle made in Brazil. This is a 50% cotton, 30% rayon, 20% linen blend.

I loved working with this yarn because it has a nice hand to it, it knits wonderfully with beautiful draping, and I love the fiber content allowing for machine washing, BUT I have two complaints.
1.  The yarn in a single skein is not always one single strand length. I hate it when I am in the middle of a row and hit a knot in the yarn put there by the manufacturer. I purposely changed skeins at the ends of the rows and never in the middle. So imagine my dismay and disgust when I encounter a knot joining to lengths of thread while in the middle of a row. Does not illicit nice thoughts about the yarn company from me when this happens.
2.  And also there is a lot of the plant fibers wound in this yarn. This is aggravating because it is prickly and needs to be constantly removed as knitting progresses. Just an annoyance. It is not noticed when unwound, but once the knitting begins and the yarn unwinds, these tiny (and not so tiny) plant fibers are exposed and stick out. I have been pulling the more obnoxious ones, but there are too many. Plus I feel I am wasting lots of time fixing the yarn. I am questioning now as to whether these fibers are going to be uncomfortable when wearing the garment once done.

As to the status of my Sweater, I am pleased with its progress. I have four current projects in progress and divide my time between them: the Sweater, which I am designing, the Skirt, which I am designing, the Wrap, which I am making as a gift, a Shawl I just started, which I am making as a gift. My niece, Melissa Reece, just sent me a large box of yarn she found and then mailed to me from Kentucky. She happens to like Mickey Mouse so I am starting a Mickey Mouse design hat for her today. This will be my thank you to her. Shouldn't take too long to knit, although it does have a Fair Isle pattern around it, which might slow me down a little. We will see.