A Tale of Two Yarns – 2KCBWDAY1

Day One: 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns.
Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Tips: It is a good idea, if possible, to choose a yarn that you adore and a yarn that just didn’t work for you. You do not need to be critical of any yarn if you do not feel comfortable in doing so, but perhaps you came to realise that one yarn wasn’t suitable for a particular project, if possible you could blog about what you have come to learn about choosing the right yarn, or your love of experimenting with fibres.

Sometimes you need to make a change.  I mentioned at the beginning of the month that I had started my Shur’tugal socks out of wondrous Malabrigo.  Let me say right now that if a sock yarn could be likened to really good sex, Malabrigo would be the brand name. I love the way it flows over the needles, and the feel in my hands. There’s just something very satisfying about the softness and the pliability.

The unfortunate thing with the Malabrigo is that it is so beautiful that you don’t want to waste it.  After finding I was having some issues with gauge, I decided to rip back the sock and start over with a yarn that I wouldn’t mind losing to someone else for Yule if they just wouldn’t fit. Yes, there was a part of me that gave a very heavy sigh on that day, because I’d completed the heel turn by that point and was well on the way to starting gusset decreases.

But starting over didn’t take much, and I can’t think of many other yarns I’d rather use than Shibui sock yarn. It’s a firm, yet soft two-ply that plumps up quite nicely on slightly larger needles.  I finally settled on knitting the cuff and leg on size 2 Addi Turbo (3mm) needles, and switching back to my usual size 1 Addis (2.5mm) needles for everything from the heel flap onwards.  Sock #1 is now off the needles and looking (and feeling!) awesome. I think I’ll even get to keep them!

We won’t get into the additional cat hair that is requisite in every knitting project. I keep trying to convince myself that kitty is simply ensuring that my yarn is properly inspected and approved.