Yarn Review: Sheared Bliss Fibers Superwash Merino Sock Yarn

It's superwash.  It's merino.  And it is hand dyed in Colorado, using natural plant dyes.

This particular ball was dyed with indigo and onion skins, in a two step process.  This yarn totally geeks me out - local, hand dyed, AND plant dyed?  Sign me up!  It is super soft, but still holds up to all my ridiculous frogging, which is always a good sign.  It's nice and round, with a tight twist, which is great for stitch definition.  Look at those cables pop!

The one downside I found is that it turned my hands blue, and made my tension hand itch.  That being said, I've used lots of other colorways of this stuff, and this is the first that has bled or made me itch, so I really think that both are just the indigo.  That being said, the finished socks didn't bleed in the blocking bath, and when I wear them they don't turn my feet blue, so the bleeding is not horrible, and again... if it bothers you pick an indigo free color.  On a related note, I may be allergic to indigo, and that pisses me off.

These socks (Aspen) are currently available for preorder in my Ravelry store!  They are also included in my new ebook, Home State Botany: Colorado.

Yarn Review: Pigeonroof Studios 80/10/10 sw corriedale/tencel/nylon

One of the super hard things about designing is coming up with a name for your pattern that doesn't sound like you used those poetry magnets.  I assume the same is true of naming your yarn bases when you are a dyer, so I have to respect someone who just completely opts out of that whole mess, even if it makes her yarn name take a million years to type.  That being said, I would buy this yarn no matter what it was called, because of this:

Do you see those colors?  Gorgeous!  Stunning!  There is a reason my LYS can't seem to keep this stuff in stock.  Enough variegation to be interesting, but solid enough that it doesn't hide your stitch work, which is exactly what I'm always looking for in hand dyed, or in fact any, yarn.  It says on the website that she gets this lovely depth of color by applying the dye in layers.  I basically love every color I've ever seen this stuff in, which is saying something.

The yarn base itself feels kind of stringy in the skein - a bit stiff, you might say - but it softens beautifully on washing, without puffing up too much.  Sometimes you want your yarn to bloom, but if you don't, this yarn is perfect.  It's fabulous for lace, as the lack of fluff and smooth texture make the holes stay nice and crisp, even without aggressive blocking.  The tencel gives it a lovely sheen.  Also: wears like iron.  Corriedale wool has a longer staple (read: each hair is longer) than merino, which means it has fewer ends, making the yarn less prone to breakage and pilling.  It is also a four ply yarn (most yarn is two or three ply), which again adds durability.  This is definitely a light fingering weight - I wouldn't call it lace weight, but if I were making socks or something that needed a tight gauge, I would definitely go down a needle size or two.  Conversely, if you want a light and airy fabric, this yarn may be perfect for your project.

And now you get a preview of the next pattern in my book, Nuts and Spice Shrug:

Yes, you only get half of a swatch.  The other half of that swatch is messed up.  Remember when I said this stuff wears like iron?  Yeah, been doing a lot of frogging to get this stitch pattern just right.  But worth it!

Yarn Review: All For Love of Yarn Luminosity Fingering

First of all, can I express my amazement that Angela has managed to get pink, blue, purple, and green into one ball of yarn, and have it be such a lovely tonal?  Everything from All For Love of Yarn comes in these special limited pooling colorways, and they are a delight to work with.  You can have festive yarn and festive stitches, and be able to see both at the same time!

This specific yarn (Luminosity) is 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo rayon, and 10% nylon.  It has great drape and a lovely sheen to it (so great stitch definition!), and is holding up to all my frogging beautifully.  It would make a really luscious pair of socks.  One thing to remember about it is that bamboo rayon is still rayon, so it tends to squeak a bit on plastic needles/hooks.  If that's the sort of thing that bothers you, you should use tools in a different material.

Also, that's the swatch for my upcoming Tea Party Stole, which is included in my book.  It's turning out really pretty, isn't it?  I love star stitch for showing off nice yarn.

Suddenly I'm glad I didn't tell you about this last night like I was going to (instead choosing to veg out in front of junk tv).  I just found out that tomorrow is Angela's birthday, and so you can get 38% off any in stock purchase with the code BDAY38.  Tomorrow only!  Buy yarn!  (I'm probably going to!)

Review: Spud and Chloe Fine

I have mixed feelings about this yarn, in all honesty.  But, the good stuff first.

It's a cable plied fingering weight yarn, 80% superwash wool and 20% silk. The yardage is generous, with each ball being 65 g instead of the more standard 50 g, with 248 yards per ball. That makes it a really good price, as well. I could knit some very tall socks with two balls of this stuff. I really like the way it works up, as well - excellent stitch definition, great colors, and a nice sheen from the silk. The cable ply means that it's going to be sturdy. In addition, this is not some softy lofty sock yarn - and that means durability! Some people might not like it because it isn't soft enough, but I like scratchy yarns, and scratchy this isn't. It's more like it's kind of hard, rather than being fluffy, and it does soften considerably with washing, especially if you treat it with conditioner or lanolin. No, I like the texture, too.

So what's my problem with it?In a word, splittiness. This is the price you pay for the durability of cable plied yarns, and is frankly exacerbated by my mirror knitting. That being said, also mitigated by my left handed crocheting. So if you're right handed, and a knitter, you probably won't mind this as much. It really isn't horribly splitty, but for something so fine gauge any splitting at all tends to drive me nutter butters.

So would I use it again? Yes. Definitely yes. But I'm going to whine about it being splitty.

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.

Review: Cascade 220 Superwash Sport

I like Cascade 220.  I like Cascade 220 Superwash.  So when I found out it comes in sport weight?  Woo!  This is a soft and fluffy plied yarn.  I find the superwash softer than the regular 220, personally.  It's very smooth, and has nice stitch definition.  The only thing I don't like about this yarn is the slightly confusing yardage - rather than being 220 yards, it is 136 yards (in a 50 g skein).  That means a lot of ends to weave in in a large project, but I think its scrummy merino softness is worth it.  It comes in a great range of colors, as well... you've virtually guaranteed to find something you like, and the price is pretty good, too.

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.

Knitpicks Chroma... I got the new yarn!

I have to be honest, I feel pretty special for actually getting  Chroma in my yarn support package.  The reason is I know several other designers who submitted proposals for Chroma that got something else, plus it is a BRAND NEW yarn line so they're probably swamped with requests for it, which leads me to believe that they're being choosy about who they actually give it to.  If you know for a fact that I'm mistaken, I suppose you can tell me, or you can just let me continue to feel special.

Anyway, Chroma is a single ply, 70% wool 30% nylon blend yarn.  It is self striping, with those long slow color transitions that are so popular right now.  Think Noro, but less rustic.  It is very soft, and so far has NO hay in it.  Maybe I'm the only one, but I find a lot of hay in Noro.  The colors are lovely and rich.  It comes in both fingering and worsted weights.  One thing I can say is even tho it's a wool nylon blend in fingering weight, I don't personally recommend it for socks.  Partially because it's my personal policy not to knit socks out of non-superwash wool, and partially because the fuzzy texture of Chroma, inside a shoe, sounds like felt and pill city to me.  It does make lovely accessories, however, and is very pleasant to work with.  It has a little bit of the thick and thin thing going, but not enough to mess with your gauge.  As with all self striping yarn, I particularly like it for things that have shaping with increases or decreases... I like how the stripes bend around the corners.

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.