fuzzy yarns

I think it was about time I started a new project. My hands had been hurting from knitting mostly socks for a week or two, and I knew I needed to lighten up a bit.

I've knit two previous projects with Rowan Kidsilk Haze. One was my Birch shawl, and the other was a scarf from a Vogue Knitting pattern that somehow never made it into a photo album on the blog.

I find it amazing that I could knit my way through four balls of Kidsilk Haze and manage to forget how amazingly, exceedingly ....... hairy the yarn is. [Knitting goddess, please forgive me for the time I laughed for hours about the poor woman on the subway with the pink eyelash yarn. I was asking for it, wasn't I?]

However much the hairiness of mohair fuzz slows me down, I do love the feel and fabric of the KSH yarn. And, to give further incentive, every single time I've worn one of my earlier (KSH) projects around my mom, she's gone nuts. She touches them, she exclaims about the color and shine. She sorta kinda almost tries to walk off with them.

So, with Mother's Day coming up fast, I realized I had an obligation. The mother wants Kidsilk, the mother gets Kidsilk. The irony of the fact that I've begun a project with mohair yarn just as the weather is warming up does not escape me.

Susan's Mountain Stream scarf pattern is genius. Its done with an Orengburg style of construction, is small and portable, and the instructions are great. One of the ways I manage to get in over my head (or challenge my abilities, if you want to think of it that way) is by - damn, I really shouldn't admit this - rarely reading instructions through before I start a pattern. It saves me a lot of worrying and self-doubt. Jump right in at the first row of instructions, and then when I hit something that I don't quite understand, I just .... follow the instructions. And amazingly, it always seems to work out. However, I should just mention that this not-looking-before-leaping thing really only works with good pattern directions. I cringe to think of what would happen if I were to do this with a pattern rife with mistakes.

So, a Kidsilk Haze scarf for my mom is in the works, just in time for summer. I would never have knit with the same color of the same yarn again, but this was the perfect yarn for my mom. A smarter person would have given their mother the old scarf after reblocking and made themselves a new scarf in a different color. Just saying.

After my last shawl project, this seems incredibly fast and easy. Its giving my hands a break from the socks. And I can consider it a warm up project just in case I'm tempted to embark on some kind of insane-making shawl project in the future.  No complaints about the scarf, as long as the weather doesn't get too warm before I'm done. If it does, I reserve the right to whine.

Comments

[margene]

You're smarter than I am...while the pattern is easy I just have made one mistake after another. It hasn't damped my enthusiasm for this project, however. It's fun to do and knits up quickly (when I'm not frogging). The color is beautiful!

[claudia]

I share your love for the KSH. I need them to come out with some more colors.

[Beth S.]

I just finished mine! I'm really glad you took the plunge too. It's a great pattern; you'll enjoy it even if a) it's excessively hairy, and b) not your color at all. ;-)

Imagine how fantastic it would be in orange!

[Beth S.]

Oh, and KSH may be hairy, but at least it's not the sheddy kind of hairy. I have no patience at all for that kind of thing.

[Carole]

The scarf looks great and I agree with Claudia - new KSH colors would be awesome.

[mamacate]

Well, mohair perhaps, but it's laceweight so it seems entirely appropriate for summer.

That pattern has been calling out to me for a while now.

You have one lucky mom, m'dear.

[Martha]

People LOVE mohair. I mean, I love it too--although not so much knitting with it--it's light, warm and soft. But I have this ratty 15 year old pink mohair sweater I made out of Michael's sale mohair and the Candide Brooks sweater pattern done on circs, and whenever I wear it people comment. I mean, the sweater has holes in it, it's so ratty. But I wore it into a restaurant yesterday and had the hostess and two waitresses rhapsodizing about it. There's just something about mohair.

I'm just looking for a good project to knit with KSH. I had a sweater in mind but suspect there may be some ripping and mohair doesn't rip well.

[susan]

Yea! You're knitting it.
And it's looking great.

[Rachel H]

"in case" you're tempted to embark on some kind of insane-making shawl project in the future??

Uh huh. :o)

[--Deb]

Yes, I love that KSH doesn't shed (or not enough to matter), and the fabric is so deliciously soft and light, yet warm . . . that level of "fuzzy" I can handle!

[cari]

A KSH scarf knit in early spring sounds reasonable. A shawl might be a bit less pleasant...all that mohair pooling in your lap.

[Cordelia]

Ooooo... It's gorgeous. Lovely color & design & execution.

[Cheryl]

I think spring is the perfect time for mohair, it's so light and airy. I just started a mohair project too, must be contagious...

[vanessa]

you are a nice daughter :-)

[Cassa]

Cassie-you were 100% my inspiration for voyaging into lace knitting. You make something that looks at first so incredibly difficult seem so easy! All of your lace projects are just beautiful! Get this-you were right! I have a half-way finished Branching Out in KSH in my workbag, and my hands didn't fall off when I started! Thank you!

[Jackie]

KSH just has that effect on, well, everyone. 1 month into knitting and I walked into a LYS, saw the KSH and fell in love. Carried it around in a little bag convinced that if I could get my non-knitting friends to touch it that they too would fall in love and want to learn to knit.

True story. I was a bright-eyed new knitter.

The mountain stream scarf has been popping up a lot lately... it makes me think it might be just the thing for my first lace project. I'm going to have to bounce that around in my head a bit though. Yours is a beautiful color.

[Imbrium]

I suppose the way you all go on about it, I'll have to get my hands on some KSH one of these days. The scarf is looking lovely.

[Chris]

You're going to get major daughter points there. :) And you'll be matching!!

[Sylvia]

Parallel tracks. Exactly the same [hot, hairy, yet I like the resulting fabric] thoughts I was having yesterday when I finished up a KSH shrug. Your mom's going to love the scarf.