Bella Knitting

Design in Progress: Heritage Sock Yarn

Sarah

I was really excited when Laura said she was going to start carrying the Cascade Heritage sock yarns a while back. I mean, who doesn't love sock yarn? It sent my mind reeling with design ideas, although for me, nothing really firms up until I have the yarn on the needles. You can buy the yarn a la carte from Bella Knitting here; the color card is here.

I've been working on a sock pattern in the yarn using the "Forest" colorway (#5619) and I figured that since I now have some experience with the yarn, I should share some of my thoughts on working with it.

First off, the yarn has four plies, so it has a nice roundness to it, creating tidy, even stitches. I'm using a multicolor, and I was pleased with the way the colors stack up -- the colors don't pool in big blobs, but I've got a zippy little almost-stripe thing going on. Of course, these variegations are all pretty much in the same color family, so you'll get a different result with a shade like Londonberry, which combines green and purple hues for greater contrast. Overall, I think that the way the colors shift as you knit suggests that this yarn will work great in a pattern which makes the stitches move. That's what I'm doing, anyway, but the design isn't ready for the big reveal just yet. To give you an idea of what I mean, look at Cookie A's Monkey sock pattern -- the increases and decreases create a pleasing movement in the fabric which shows off yarns like these quite nicely.

I know that I haven't seen this yarn in any of my LYS yet, so you may not have had a chance to see it in person. If I were to compare it with other yarns in my stash which you may be familiar with, I'd say it is most like Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and the Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett yarn by Schachenmayer Nomotta. Both of those are constructed of 4 plies as well. Based on what's in my stash, it looks like the Regia yarn may have the most loosely-spun plies and the Lorna's Laces the most tightly spun, but I think I'd need a microscope to be certain. The Heritage sock yarn certainly seems to be of comparable quality, will stand up to a machine wash and tumble dry, and is definitely a good deal at $16.50 for a 100 gram, 437 yard skein -- enough to make a pair.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

Sarah

I have a problem. I do not have enough storage space. Some would say I have "too much yarn" but that kind of comment only comes from people who don't knit, and therefore do not understand the Urge To Stash. I also have too many books, but for some reason, when people find out you own a ton of books they think it makes you intellectual, and when people find out you own a ton of yarn they usually think you are a little off your rocker.

Anyway, I decided that I should be displaying some of my sock yarn where I can see it (and admire it and pet it and maybe hug it a little, when no one is looking), so I took down a bunch of books from the bookshelf in the bedroom, boxed them up, and put a bunch of pretty skeins of sock yarn up instead. The books went into hibernation in the garage, where several other boxfuls await the day when we finally buy some more bookshelves. Which, to be honest, probably won't happen until we move to a bigger place. We have a lot of books.

This didn't solve the storage problem, of course, but periodically shuffling everything around at least makes me feel a little better. My long-term plan is to win the lottery (I didn't say it was a good plan) and invest in yarn and yarn storage. A dry olympic-sized swimming pool would do nicely, don't you think? I mean, what knitter doesn't occasionally fantasize about swimming through an enormous stash, like Scrooge McDuck swimming through his gigantic pile of coins?

Shhh, Knitters Love Yarn

Laura

Dear Yarn Companies,

Shh, I have a secret to share with you. Knitters love yarn. I know, it's shocking, but true. We love yarn . . . we love winding it, we love looking at it, we love knitting with it in fact we love buying it. That's why we all have excess Stash (OK, so there is no such thing as excess anything having to do with yarn).  So what's up with the boring color card photos almost all of you use on your web sites?

Maybe, just maybe, you could provide us with some pictures of the yarn that actually show it's beauty,  the depth of it's color, it's various color ways, how it matches up with its buddy two rows down and one column to the right on the color card so we wouldn't have to guess. If we had pictures like this one we'd only fall in love sooner. Yes, we'll still need the color cards but please invest in a ball winder and a nice camera too! We'd appreciate it.

This is the new Cascade Heritage Sock yarn. It is still as yummy as I thought when I got it. Swatching away on new sock pattern ideas. We're going to start adding lots of great yarn photos on our Bella Flickr account to add to this one.

Destash, part II

Sarah

The yarn-purge continues. As I mentioned in my last post, you can see all of the yarns I'm selling on my Ravelry trade/sell page, here. You can either email me at Caryatid@gmail.com if you're interested in a yarn, or message me in Ravelry. First-come, first-served, and I'll take payment via PayPal. Priority shipping is included in the price, provided you live within the continental US.

5 balls Louisa Harding Kashmir Aran (495 yds total) shade 5, a nice teal-y blue: $30

8 balls MaggiKnits Maggi's Linen (dk, 1048 yds total) olive green: $42 SOLD

3 skeins Colinette Giotto (bulky 468 yds total) "Velvet Plum": $55

4 wound skeins Elsebeth Lavold Silky wool (dk, 768 yds total): $28 SOLD

2 wound skeins Manos de Uruguay 100% wool (aran, 270 yds total) "black cherry": $20

8 balls Rowan Felted Tweed (sport, 1528 yds total) "Bilberry": $70 SOLD

That's all for now, though I've got a few more things in the stash I'm on the fence about. If I decide to let them go, I'll let you know!

Destash

Sarah

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...I need to destash. Much as I love yarn, and love my stash, it really is getting to be a bit much. With Measure as active as he is, and with my need to spend most of my knitting time on design rather than personal projects, I just don't have time to knit all that I own. And since the purpose of yarn is to make people happy, I'm going to offer it up to those who will give it the care and attention it deserves.

You can see all of the yarns I have for sale on Ravelry; my trade/sell page is here; or scroll down -- I'll be posting some today and more later. Prices include shipping (Priority, within the US.) Email me at Caryatid@gmail.com if you're interested, or message me in Ravelry. I'm selling (via PayPal) on a first-come-first-served basis.

1 skein (lace, 400yds) Jade Sapphire Cashmere Silke "Oceana": $30 SOLD

10 skeins Adrienne Vittadini Nadia (aran-bulky, 710 yds total): $65 SOLD

13 balls Rowan Spray (bulky, 1131 yds total): $70

2 balls Brooks Farm yarn (dk, 1000 yards) Not sure whether it is Harmony or Duet, but I think it's Harmony. Both skeins have been wound. $50 SOLD

5 skeins Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (worsted, 950 yds total) "Charcoal Heather": $30 SOLD

5 balls Jaeger Trinity (dk, 1085 yds total) color 444 (ecru): $20 SOLD

The Rule of Three

Sarah

The other day, I put Measure down to let him practice crawling, and he made a beeline for a tote full of yarn! He has good taste, it was a really pretty heathered alpaca blend. (I think he was trying to tell me to knit him a sweater with it.) Since yarn on the floor is probably a strangulation hazard to a baby, and a baby on the floor is definitely a tangulation hazard to the yarn, I decided that this weekend was a good time to invest in some big clear plastic bins and do a full-on stash overhaul.

As I went through it all, I realized that though I like having a large stash, I really am running out of space to store yarn and fiber. I've got a large basket in the living room (stored out of the reach of little baby fingers), a cedar chest (which we use as a coffee table), two largeish plastic bins, one large under-bed storage bin, two closet organizer thingies from Ikea, and three smaller baskets which go on the bookshelves and my desk. And yeah, this is after I went through and pruned two largish bag's worth of yarn to donate to Goodwill.

So, I formulated a plan for myself: before buying a new ball of yarn, I have to use three balls of yarn from my stash. Since I don't have a large fiber stash, I decided that I can buy new fiber on a "replacement" basis: I can buy a new 4-ounce braid when I've spun 4 ounces of stash. Sounds sensible, no? This way, I don't feel like I'm on a stash "diet" -- at least not a starvation diet -- but I'm motivating myself to make room for all the stuff I'm sure I'll want to buy at Stitches West this year!