Spring evening

I do so love spring.

And there's nothing like popping down to Soho after work on a beautiful spring evening and stopping by a bakery on the way to pick up a nice ciabatta that only cost 75c! Now maybe that sounds normal to you, but I guess when I buy fancy bread I'm used to paying about that much for a dinner roll and several times that for a loaf.

Granted it's not as amazing as the ciabatta Elizabeth brought with her to Philly...

Speaking of Elizabeth, she requested some handwarmers, and as no one else has asked me to knit them anything, she has been bumped to the top of the queue! Also, I am in Blue Sky Alpaca withdrawal, not to mention a holding pattern with the bunny while I wait for the stuffing to arrive. I did start to knit up what I hope will be a really cute dress for the bunny out of my banana silk yarn (same yarn I sent to my KTE partner).

I think it's going to come out nice, and the color I'm using (denim - the photos don't do it justice) is so so pretty, but it's so coarse and gnarly compared to the buttery smoothness of the alpaca that I am craving something else. Under other circumstances I think I would enjoy knitting with this more. This was a case of picking the best of what I have (which isn't much) for this project rather than picking a project to suit the yarn or vice versa from the infinite choices the world has to offer.

Anyway, the handwarmers - I had a hard time making a decision on the yarn. Elizabeth selected a particular pattern (the "fingerless garter mitts" from One Skein also shown, ooh, cute, look, interesting stripes here). The thing is, I just couldn't find anything in the specified sportweight and her requested color (crimson) that I liked. Actually, I couldn't find anything in crimson that I liked so I broadened my interpretation of crimson to be... purple!

Yes, I fell in love with Manos del Uruguay handspun multi in colorways 113 (wildflowers) and 118 (mulled wine) (the Purl site doesn't have wildflowers but you can see it here. Both colorways are shown here).

The thing is, it really isn't the right yarn for this project, as it's much bulkier (worsted to chunky). Not only will this require serious ammendments to the pattern (like, divide everything by two!) but it will really just be an entirely different end result.

So, dilemma. Do I get the gorgeous yarn that is not really right for this particular pattern, or get the right kind of yarn but without really being happy with color. I had to rush my decision in the end as the store was closing, and decided to go for love. I mean, what's the point of knitting with something you don't love? Even if it is for someone else, or maybe especially if it's for someone else. I didn't get the wool wound into balls so I could always return them or... use it for something else.

Which, by the time I got home, I had decided to do, because what I really wanted for this project was some Koigu as I am still totally obsessed/in love with these. However, Purl didn't have anything I considered to be even close to crimson or as appealing as the Manos. But their website (different stock) does! So, I have ordered 1 skein of Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in colorway p115. Yummy! Plus it's the right yarn and kind of crimson-y.

Another friend wants a scarf... oops, I guess she was the first to make a request, so I think I might use the Manos for that instead... that's probably a more appropriate use of the wool. Yay!

After all that, I'll probably just keep knitting with the banana silk for a bit but it's nice to know I have some options for my next project. I also want to look for ideas for my Noro Geisha skinny scarf - just straight garter stitch or something more interesting?

Here are some banana silk yarn photos:

The three colors are celery, natural and denim. The photo on the left was taken in natural sunlight, thus the vast difference in color. I did a quick 18 st swatch and overlaid it on the yet-to-be-stuffed bunny to get an idea for how it would look.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

OMG! The yarn is gorgeous! I am so very excited. And I am at work on something for you in exchange, perhaps something to go with your new tank... Yay! :)

[Chantal]

Thank you for your comment on my blog!