New Yarn

The yarn I ordered for my Mona's Jacket arrived on Friday: Naturally Naturelle 14 ply in Pecan. It's a slightly lighter weight than the pattern calls for (7 wpi vs. 5-6 wpi), but I couldn't find a super bulky that worked for me. I either didn't like it, or couldn't afford it. Yowza, there's some expensive yarn out there!

 

 

 The yarn is from New Zealand and still smells like sheep (fortunately, I don't mind that, although it will be interesting when I have to wash it. I can't say I particularly enjoy the smell of wet sheep). It reminded me of the yarn my sister brought me back from her trip to New Zealand a couple of years ago. After some frantic pawing through my (disorganized) stash, I found it. I couldn't remember why it had been put away. Once I saw the label, I remembered:

If you enlarge the photo, you may notice something missing from the label. The put up. Hard to plan a project if you don't know how much yarn you have. Thank goodness for Ravelry! The yarn was in the database (although nowhere to be found on Google) so now I know. Also notice how similar the color is to the Naturelle I bought (I hadn't seen this yarn in years, mind you). Good pick on my sister's part, don't you think?

I couldn't start Mona over the weekend because I'm still waiting for the needles. Not that it was an issue - I have a ridiculous number of projects in the pipeline, so I was hardly at a loss for knitting. Among other things, I worked on my VB socks, which will have to be frogged again. I'm still messing around with needle sizes and methods. I discovered that part of my problem with Magic Loop is that I'm not working with a long enough cable. Ladders are always a problem for me with Magic Loop, although never when I use dpns. Which is part of why I hate the method. Yes, I know, that's knitting blasphemy to most people, but I can't help it. Call me old fashioned, but I love my dpns. Unfortunately, they're not always an option. So, I'm going to give two circulars a try and see how that goes, and if that doesn't work, I'll be ordering some longer circulars for Magic Loop. *Sigh*

The pattern itself is a fun knit. It isn't difficult, although it does require some attention, particularly because there are two unrelated cables to keep track of at one time. My Vogue Knitting app has been invaluable. I've generally found it to be a disappointment, but the ability to add multiple counters to a project makes VB a lot easier!

Since I didn't feel like wrestling with the needle issue last night, I put VB aside and cast on the first Fargyle sock. These will go really fast - I only worked on them for maybe an hour and a half, and I'm 2/3 of the way through the first chart repeat.

They aren't quite the retina-searing blue they appear to be in the photos. Or maybe it's just me. The cabling is looking a little skanky right now, but I'm hoping some vicious blocking will take care of it. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll have enough time tonight for another full repeat and the heel turn. Always my favorite part of any sock. There's something really satisfying about it, and I feel a little smug afterward, as though I'd performed some magic trick. I'd better get cracking if I'm going to pull the rabbit out of the hat.