So the shiny got me, and I just had to cast on with that gorgeous skein of Diadem from the Knitpicks swag bag I told you about. I consulted Ravelry for one skein projects using this yarn. One user talked about a change in texture after blocking, so I looked for no block projects which would work. I found a beautiful (and simple) piece, the Inside Out Cowl by Nicole Dupuis (cocoknits blog).. The sample photo even has it in similar colored yarn.
First I had to wind it, using that Nostepinne I got at the Sheep and Wool Festival last year. First I wound a single layer of yarn around the pinne, then began winding at an angle turning, crossing over the yarn. The idea is to build up a center pull ball (note the strand tied around the tip of the nostepinne).
The problem is that this yarn didn’t want to form a nicely centered ball. As you can see in the third and fourth pictures, it just didn’t layer well. What you can’t here is that this yarn produced a lot of ‘fluff’, just from winding it. Serious lint producter.
So when I removed the ball (picture 5) there was a little layer hanging back. It ended up with the bottom of the skein looking like this: Not only was it not terribly attractive, it was also damaged, snarling yarn. I ended up cutting off a moderate amount while casting on. It should be fine, the pattern won’t use anything like the whole skein, but it’s a pity, and it colors my perception of the yarn. It’s beautiful, it’s delightfully soft, but it’s fussy. Fussy to the ‘no frog’ point – I can’t count on reclaiming this yarn if I make any mistakes.
I still love this yarn, but I wouldn’t want to knit a sweater from it.
On the other hand, now that the cast on is done, it’s going pretty smoothly. True, there’s a distinctly unpleasant ‘crunchy’ sensation if I happen to split a stitch. The yarn is put-up without any plying, it’s basically unspun fibers lying parallel to each other. But look at the color and stitch definition –
I’m developing a love-hate relationship with this yarn…
Yarn Contests and Giveaways
The Knitting Pipeline is giving away a copy of Home by Pam Allen. Post a comment to the Ravelry thread saying which project you’d knit first for a chance to win.
I entered to with the Expression Fiber Arts $1000 February Yarn Giveaway (February 28).
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