Yarn Review: Curio

One of the awesome things about being a designer is that sometimes you can get yarn support in yarns that are not available to the public yet.  That is also one of the not so awesome things about being a designer - you have to keep it a secret until the yarn is released.  Case in point: Knit Picks Curio.  I have been wanting to talk about this stuff for like two weeks now, but it is finally released, hooray!

Curio is a #10 crochet thread, in 100% cotton.  For you knitters out there, that is a lace weight.  I would bet my last biscuit it is mercerized cotton (because it is so smooth and shiny), but the label doesn't say it is.  It is smooth, shiny, and has a very tight twist, as crochet thread should so that it doesn't split on itty bitty hooks.  It feels a little bit stiff in the ball, but softens beautifully on washing.

All that, however, is fairly standard for good quality crochet cotton.  The thing that makes Curio stand out is the colors:

Seriously, they are even better in person.  I have always kind of had a thing for colored crochet thread, but it is often difficult to find it in any colors other than white, ecru, baby pink and blue, and Christmas colors.  Curio comes in a nicely varied palette.  I'm particularly drawn to some of those softer colors in particular.

And now on a related note, a preview for my book:

The next pattern, Blueberry Torte Capelette, is in Curio, in Bluebell.  So if any of you were wondering why I hadn't put a planned yarn next to this one, when I have one for all the other patterns, now you know.  I am good at keeping secrets.  I just don't like it.

Mmmm, cashmere...

I have two yarn reviews for you in the next week, and both have on thing in common... CASHMERE! Cashmere, the god of fibers! Well, I've got a personal soft spot for silk, but come on... cashmere!

Today's review is on Knitpicks Capra. It is 85% merino, 15% cashmere and all soft and fluffy. It just feels luxurious... and at a very reasonable price, to boot! It is round, plied, and oh yeah, did I mention fluffy? It is listed as a DK weight but because of the poof factor, I find it works better when worked at a worsted gauge. I haven't had any problems with splittiness, and it does ok with frogging.

It's also perfect for next to the skin wear - I'm designing a cowl of it. It is also incredibly warm, so great for winter gear. Seriously, I put the cowl over my neck, didn't even button it, and my first thought was "wow, I'm warmer than I was a second ago." Really snuggly. Because it is so round, it also shows complicated stitching really well.

All around, this is really nice yarn, for a good price. As with anything Knitpicks, are there better cashmere blends out there? Yeah, probably. But they're freaking expensive. This is an excellent "workhorse luxury" sort of yarn. Seriously, I want to make the whole WORLD hats out of this stuff, because it is so great to work with and so great to wear. My ONLY complaint is that I wish it came in more colors. The palette is overwhelmingly bright. But as it's a fairly new addition to the KP line, I'm sure there's more to come.

Do you have something you want me to review? Needles? Yarn? Notions? Drop me a line! marusempai at gmail dot com Put "Maru reviews" in the subject line.

Getting organized, I am doing it

Behold my new organizational device!  It's not a file cabinet, but a Sterlite seven drawer tower.  The bottom drawer is reserved for WIPs that I want to keep at my desk, the top drawer is for tools (hooks, needles and so on), and the rest is for design work!  I am however having a hard time deciding how to subdivide it.  Finished/unfinished?  Large projects/small projects?  I just don't know!  But my desk is looking a lot better than it was before.  I'm actually going to have space for some books, which I've sorely missed since our big move this summer.  Also with luck the big sort will mean getting rid of a few things.  I do tend to be a packrat.

Old Reliable - Knitpicks Stroll

If I may put my summary first, Knitpicks Stroll has three big strong points:

• It is inexpensive.
• It comes in about a billion colors.
• It is readily available from the Knitpicks website.

The problem most knitters have with it, it seems, is that it is from Knitpicks.  There are few yarnish questions that will raise as much ire from knitters as "do you like Knitpicks yarn."  There are some that figure that buying from Knitpicks is like shooting your local yarn store in the foot.  The way I feel though, is if the (financial, often as not) choice is Knitpicks yarn, big box store yarn, or NO yarn, I will pick the Knitpicks yarn every time.  I have yet to find a better yarn for the price.

Which begs the question of why am I designing in Knitpicks Stroll, specifically, and Knitpicks yarn in general.  The fact of the matter is Stroll is a good, solid workhorse sock yarn.  It is soft enough, durable enough, fairly average fingering weight yarn.  It comes in all my favorite (read: all the) colors.  If you needed something for colorwork for a kid, it's superwash.  It makes very nice socks.  No matter how rich (ha) I get, there will always be a place for Stroll in my stash.  It's not the best sock yarn ever.  But it's a good, serviceable yarn that gets the job done.  It looks good for a great price, is easy to get, and oh yeah, the colors.

Do you have something you want me to review? Needles? Yarn? Notions? Drop me a line! marusempai at gmail dot com. Put "Maru reviews" in the subject line.

Yarn review - Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool

I like working with smaller dyers.  Mountain Colors is fairly local to me (Montana), and small enough that I can be reasonably certain the yarn they sent me was indeed dyed in Montana.  The first thing I have to say about this yarn is THE COLORS!  Most of their colorways are available in all of their yarn bases, so this isn't really specific to the 4/8's Wool, but my goodness their colors are pretty.  I am working with Harmony Mist, and it really is better in person.  The Harmony group of variegateds is my favorite - it has enough variegation to keep things interesting, but not so much that it obscures the stitch-work so much.

4/8's wool is a smooth, plied worsted weight.  It has a nice fluffy texture, and is very stretchy.  As you can see, my project with it is in crochet cables, and it is working as well as or better than I expected it to.  It is nice and soft, without being "pills as I work it and felts if I frog it" soft, and has good stitch definition.  Did I mention it takes frogging well?  I do a lot of frogging when I design, and this stuff has taken it and come back for more.  I suspect this means that it will wear well, although I haven't tested that yet.  (Some day, I am going to pin swatches to the baby's knees to test how yarn wears, but first I need a good way to measure my results.)  Good stuff!

Do you have something you want me to review? Needles? Yarn? Notions? Drop me a line! marusempai at gmail dot com. Put "Maru reviews" in the subject line.

Yarn review time!

Yarn support is the BEST part of being a designer.  It is like Christmas early!  My most recent batch has been Panda Silk from Crystal Palace Yarns.  It is a fingering weight, 52% bamboo, 43% machine washable merino wool, 5% combed silk blend.  Also, I might add, delightful to work with.  This time around, I'm designing a crochet shawl in it:

 It's lovely and soft, and that silk gives it a nice sheen.  I've had no problems with splittiness, either, and it has excellent stitch definition.  Wide range of colors.  Admittedly I selected this yarn myself, specifically for this pattern, so I may be a bit biased, but I love this stuff.

Yaaarn!

More yarn support came today!  This is two balls of Plymouth Cotton Kisses in a fun spring green color:

 

The best part of designing?  When it goes all wintery, that is my cue to think SPRING!  And ignore the snow and horrible wind.  Well, it's not cold yet, but seriously, it's only a matter of time.