Tag: blended yarn

Posted in knitting

Casting on to Travel

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s really heating up here in Oklahoma. Thankfully, the husband and I are headed for cooler climes: Alberta, Canada. Since our trip includes airplanes and bus rides, it is essential to my nervous system that I knit. My go-to travel project is socks.

I have two skeins of this wool and silk blend in my stash. It swatches out as a dk, with around 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 stitches per inch, depending on the needle. Husband loves the color. I am skeptical that the yarn will hold up to the rigors of sock-wearing.

The silk portion appears to be raw silk. (I’m guessing it’s in the little pale nubs.) My understanding of raw silk is that it is spun from cocoons after the caterpillar has chewed its way out. Maybe if I double the yarn, it will be stronger?

I have chosen a lovely pattern by Purl Soho featuring a twisted rib stitch, with crossovers, called House Socks.

https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2022/08/25/house-socks/

The pattern suggested that I swatch in the round using 34 stitches and the twisted rib. The results are this tiny and cute cuff.

I didn’t quite get gauge, but it’s close. Husband’s foot is rather wide, so I am confident that I can get a good fit.

Anyone have an opinion to share about this yarn?

Posted in knitting

FO Friday: Forestry Cardigan

Posted on by Laura Kate
Finished at Last!

I’m pleased to unveil this cardigan which I started back in May. In March of this year, I had visited Ewetopia Yarn store in Veroqua, WI. Noticing this yarn on sale, I picked up enough to make a sweater. In fact, I purchased all skeins available in this colorway.

Roslyn by Cascade Yarns

Roslyn is a blend of 65% wool and 35% silk. It is so soft that I posed for this photo shoot wearing the sweater next to my skin – in other words, no shirt! The finished fabric is very drapey. It almost lacks enough structure to be used in a cardigan.

This pattern came from Vogue Knitting: a retrospective on seventy years of the magazine’s history. Forestry originally appeared in the 2008 Fall edition but it strikes me as having a vintage vibe.

I had some trouble with errors and vague instructions in the pattern. Even though I researched it in Ravelry’s database, I don’t think that all the errata had been discovered and corrected.

…….specifically, the shawl collar did not come out right. It was after I had finished my knitting and scrutinized the photograph closely that I realized I had placed the stitch markers for shaping the collar in the wrong location. By then I had lost all interest in ripping the collar out and starting over again.

Close up

I made adjustments in the best way that I could. I added a loop closure near the collar’s beginning so that the neckline wouldn’t gap open.

Despite its imperfections, this cardigan will be a nice addition to my sweater wardrobe. I have a vintage wool A-line skirt in a darker moss green color that will work nicely. Adding a chunky necklace like the one worn by the model and my brown leather boots and I’ll be good to go.