Mohair

Sweet baby Jesus.  I wrote a post way back in April and the next thing I know, it's mid-December and I haven't written anything in between. Bad, Natalie...

Since my last (let's be honest) filler post about knitting.  I've been doing a lot of, well, knitting.  Especially in the last two month.  Tis the season and all.  I got my hands on llama, yak, cashmere and qiviut.  And hopefully, I'll be writing about those things in the coming weeks/months.

Let's leave the past in the past and get down to the nitty gritty.  Mohair.

Mohair is made from the hair of angora goats.  Mohair is soft and lovely.  The little flyaway hairs in mohair don't bug me as much as llama or alpaca.  

Cool Mohair Facts:

• It is one of the oldest textile fibers known to man
• It takes dye very well
• It's diameter grows with the age of the goat; young goats produce fine hairs while order goat produce thicker hairs
• It is a great insulator

My Mohair Yarn: 
I picked up this skein of 100% mohair at the Colorfield Farm booth at last year's Shepherd's Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival.  My favorite thing in the whole wide world about this yarn is that it came in sport weight.  I usually only see it in the lace/sock/fingering variety and as much as I love knitting sewing thread on toothpicks, I like this just *thismuch* more.

• Texture: It's smooth and soft and It feel a little bit like if corn and alpaca had a yarn baby.  Which is a good thing.  3.5 Yarngasms.
• Durability:  The actual fibers are very durable.  In fact, mohair is know for its durability.  The yarn itself, not so much.  See Frogability.  2.5 Yarngasms.
• Frogability:   I wouldn't unless you had to.  With the lack of twist in my specific yarn, it started to get very unattractive and unworkable very easily after frogging and ripping.  .5 Yarngasms.
• Drape:  There's not a lot of body to this fiber even in a sport weight.  2 Yarngasms.

My Project:
I had barely enough to make the Hermione Hearts Ron hat (Ravelry link), but I made it work.  The hat is a quick little knit for any HP geek.  Myself included.  I love that the yarn ended up self-striping although that was not my original intention.

Photo courtesy of Justin D. Gallo Photography

Sadly for mohair, I think it's one of those fibers I could probably live without.  I didn't especially have any issues with it and it didn't drive me any particular brand of crazy, but I also wasn't incredibly impressed with it.  It's soft and shiny, but that can be said about a lot of things.  It could be used for just about any garment that didn't require a great deal of weight, but again, that can be said about quite a few fibers.  While I really like the end result, overall, it was a fairly meh experience.

So THAT'S what I write about...

Paper

Paper yarn feels a lot like a use dryer sheet that got stuck in a pair of pants and has been carried around for half a day before falling out.  In fact, my looks a lot like a dryer sheet that had a sewing machine taken to it.  It's soft and super squishy.  It feels great as it's knit up; in fact, I found it very nostalgic and comforting in a way I can't quite put my finger on.

My Paper Yarn:
Universal Yarns Papier (colorway: Iron Teapot) is a blend of 75% Paper and 25% Nylon.  My bet is the nylon is the stitching that holds the whole yarn together.

•  Texture: It's soft and delightful.  The stitching adds a shine and depth not seen in other yarns. 5 Yarngasms.
• Durability:  Yikes, this is a delicate yarn.  Between the delicate dryer sheet body and stitching, I don't know how much this yarn will hold up against normal wear and tear.  1.5 Yarngasms.
• Frogability:   Just don't.  I unfortunately had to frog this yarn several times in the course of trying to find the right project and what started off smooth and beautiful very quickly because ragged and snared.  The yarn is still very tacitly pleasing, but less aesthetically pleasing.  0 Yarngasms.
• Drape:  Paper is a dense fiber, but is incredibly light.  I feel like it's very middle of the road; not too drapey, but not too springy.  3 Yarngasms.

My Project:
This yarn started as the Sidewinder Hat (Ravelry link) which is one of my favorite hats.  Warning: don't try cables with this yarn.  It just doesn't look right.  I was getting a weird stitched to non-stitched yarn side ratio and I wasn't happy with how anything looked.  So I took it apart.  Then, I tried another hat because I couldn't for the life of me find an adult  pattern that called for 136 yards.  Eventually, I settled on a the Rag Bag (another Ravelry link). 

My yarn is a little worse for wear because of all the knitting and frogging, but I am so pleased with how the final project turned out.  It's a simple little bag and paired with a snazzy Fabric Flower it looks really adorable. 

Austin, TX

When I travel, I make it a habit to check out a local yarn store.  In my humble opinion, you can tell a lot about the knitters in a region by looking at the kinds of stores they have at their disposal and what fibers/brands are readily available.  The proprietors of these stores probably think I'm crazy because the first two questions out of my mouth are, "What do you have that's locally raised/spun/dyed?" and "What's the weirdest fiber here?".  Once I explain what I do on ye olde blog the crazy seems to make sense.  The latest in a long line of those subjected to my own personal brand of knitting crazy was Stacy at The Knitting Nest in Austin, TX.

The Knitting Nest is my kind of yarnery; lots of natural light, plenty of space in between shelves for browsing, enough stock that the space looks full, but not so much that you feel like your head might explode with choices, several comfy seating options for those who want to hang out and most importantly, fantastically knowledgeable and ridiculously friendly staff.  I want to clone the Nest and bring it to MN.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Austin, a trip to The Knitting Nest is a must!

I may have lost all control and self-restraint while I was there (What, me, never...).  I left with the following:

• 2 skeins of Kollage Riveting in dusk denim (a semi-weird fiber)
• 3 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold's Baby Llama in juice, flaming red and pine (a fiber I haven't worked with yet)
• 2 skeins of Instant Gratification Superwash Sock Yarn in a colorway that can only be described as Valentine's Day (Texas made)
• 1 skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn in deep blue (for a commissioned piece)
• 2 skeins of Queensland Collection Rustic Wool in charcoal (because it was on super sale)
• 1 skein of Spinning Colors Worsted in amethyst (also Texas made)
• 1 pack of notecards and 1 pack of tags from Knitterella (because who could resist...)

Seriously.  That's a full load of goodies.

With all that awesomeness abounding, it's no wonder that local knitters love The Knitting Nest.  It's won some awards and generally has some pretty cool people hanging about.

And... there's giant knitting needles.  GIANT.  As in, probably made for.  See:

I can't possible top those bad boys, so I'll leave it at that.  The Knitting Nest . 5 Yarngasms.  Word.

Sugar Cane

OMG.  Sugar cane yarn is the softest, smoothest, shiniest yarn in the whole wide world!  I can't find any manufacturing information on the interwebs, which only strengthens my initial feeling that it must be made with rainbows and fairies and unicorns and happiness.

My Sugar Cane Yarn:
My silver Araucania Ruca looks metallic.  But it's not.  It's 100% sugar cane. 

*This is the Periwinkle, not the Silver, but it's a good illustrator of the Shiny.

•  Texture: It's the softer, splittier cousin of cotton/seaweed/corn yarn baby.  5 Yarngasms.
• Durability: It's holding up after several wears.  I am a little worried about the snagging; catch it on anything and it shreds like cotton candy.  3.5 Yarngasms.
• Frogability: It's so pretty and delicate and lacking a lot of twist - it's not going to hold up to repeated froggings.  1.5 Yarngasms. 
• Drape: It shows off openwork like seaweed, but just a little lighter to wear.  It would be a really nice summer project yarn.  4.5 Yarngasms.

My Project:
The Ruca is a perfect yarn for a dressier project because of the Shiny.  I decided I needed a snazzy little cardi and found The Betty Minisweater.  I had never done a Roman Stripe stitch.  It was fun and the tiniest bit challenging. The stitch looks very similar to a crochet stitch, which means I get a lot of people asking about how I crocheted my sweater.  They are amazed when I explain that I did it with two pointy sticks.

Alpaca

Remember that little post about the difference (or lack thereof) between alpacas & llamas?  It was all in preparation for this moment.  This one, right here.  And another one, later on.  Quick recap: alpacas are roughly the size of an adult human and have soft, floofy, fleecy goodness.

Ask not what you can do for Alpaca, but what Alpaca can do for you:
Alpaca fleece is hypoallergenic, water repellent and difficult to ignite.  Cool, no?

My Alpaca Yarn:
I was at the Shepard's Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival last spring when I eye-spied this lovely yarn from EnchantedMeadows Alpacas and Goats.  They are super nice people who sell an amazing amount of yarn for a v. reasonable price.  I highly recommend picking up a hank or two (or three or ten) if you see them out and about.

 

Texture: It's soft and fuzzy and cozy.  3.5 Yarngasms.

Durability: The fuzzy becomes frizzy when frogged too much, worn a lot or mishandled in the washing process.  Alpaca is a fragile fiber, I tell ya.  2.5 Yarngasms.

Frogability: I wouldn't frog it if you paid me.  See above.  2 Yarngasms.

Drape: Alpaca is in that weird in-between place where it's not like making something with chain mail, but it's also not quite heavy enough to really show off openwork.  3 Yarngasms.

My Alpaca Project:
I made the Double V Cardigan by Melissa Wehrle from Interweave Knits, Spring 2010 (Ravelry link).  I love all of Melissa's designs.  You should too.  She rocks.

So.  Alpaca.  I've knit a few things with the fiber.  And I've loved all of them.  I've loved them so much that they more closely resemble a big piece of lint.  Like the Double V Cardi, I'm constantly picking fuzzballs the size of TX off my clothes after I wear it.  What is a girl to do then?  I want to keep knitting with alpaca because it's soft and warm and pretty inexpensive, but I need something that can withstand my not-so-delicate lifestyle.  I guess the best I can say is knit at your own risk and know yourself or the person for whom you are knitting the piece.

Speaking of TX, I'll be in Austin this weekend.  I think a trip to the Knitting Nest is in order!