Mink

This is one I’ve been excited about for a LONG time.  Holy Cow!  Mink! 

Cool Mink Facts:

• There are two main species of mink; the American mink and the European mink.  American mink is the one sought after for its fur.
• In all the research I’ve done, it’s pretty clear to me that minks are not to be tamed and kept as pets.  Crazy like foxes they are.

My Mink Yarn:

As soon as I saw this on Purl Soho’s website I knew I had to be mine.  Yes, it’s a little spendy, but Jade Sapphire’s Make Mine Mink is totally worth it just for the experience of knitting with mink.  This particular yarn made by combing minks* and then spinning the fiber.  In my mind, combing minks is a completely relaxing and desirous job; like I just sit on my couch, watching tv, and combing minks.  In reality, it’s probably like trying to catch a greased up watermelon in a public pool, but my fantasies don’t need to be bothered by pesky things like reality. 

Texture: It’s like shoving your hand in a cloud filled with flowers and puppies and chocolate *drool*.  5 Yarngasms

Durability: Delicate.  So, so delicate even in a tight knit. 1 Yarngasm.

Frogability: Don’t do it.  This yarn sheds like crazy and will break if you’re not careful.  .5 Yarngasms.

Drape: It’s got lovely drape, but I don’t know that I would ever use it for anything that requires drape.  3.5 Yarngasms.

My Project:

I knit Monique Gascon’s Woven Cowl (Ravelry link).  It’s a great pattern that showcased the texture of the mink.  It was a quick little knit and I didn’t end up with any leftover mink.  Hooray on both counts!

I had so much fun knitting with mink that the yumminess of the yarn made up for the fact that every time I knit with it I ended up looking like a pack of minks shed all over me.  I can’t state this strongly enough: this yarn will shed all over you.  It will shed half its weight on you if you let it.  You will need to wear specific mink knitting clothes when you use it. 

But it’s worth it.  So worth it.

*Mink or minks are acceptable plural forms of mink.  In case you were wondering.

Camel

A new blog post!  About yarn!  Camel yarn to be exact!  Must be your lucky day!  Or mine!

Cool Camel Facts:

• A camel can produce up to 5 pounds of hair a year
• Camel hair is collected from the two-humped Bactrian camel; Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, China, and Australia are the largest suppliers of camel hair worldwide
• While camel hair is usually left undyed, it can take dye as well as many other animal fibers
• Camel hair can insulate in cold conditions and keep cool in warm weather

My Camel Yarn:

I was sweating myself silly wandering around Uptown one fine June afternoon and stumbled across the Uptown Farmers’ Market.  It was there I found the booth of Whisker Knits.  She had only a few skeins out, but they were all of your semi-exotic fiber variety.  I was telling Megan (Ms. Whisker Knits herself) about my affinity for strange fibers when she confided that she had some milk ready to spin up.  I was in love!  The Whisker Knits camel was chunky and soft with great texture – I couldn’t resist.

 

Texture: It was soft, yet hearty and full of tactile interest.  4 Yarngasms.

Durability:  My knit wasn’t too open and yet not too tight, but it seems to stand up to general wear and tear pretty well.  3 Yarngasms.

Frogability: The pattern was simple enough that I didn’t have to frog it, but I did manage a couple of cast ons before my tail was just right and it held up nicely.  3.5 Yarngasms.

Drape: Because camel hair provides a lot of warmth without a lot of weight, there is very little body to this type of yarn.  1.5 Yarngasms.

My Project:

Knowing that I had very little yardage (138 yards to be exact), I knew I needed to make every inch count.  I chose the Sparkles Cowl because I could knit until I was out of yarn and then sew it up.  This pattern is less visually interesting without a sparkly yarn, but texture and natural color of the camel made a simple and elegant cowl.

I had fun with my camel yarn. Although I would probably steer clear of it for larger projects, I will definitely keep it in mind when I’m working on smaller, luxury knits.