The Shy Knitter

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Frost on cobwebs....

When Fabio initially picked out this colour yarn, I said it wouldn't of been my choice. But it wasn't a horrible colour and accepted it and looked forward to knitting the luxurious strands of cashmere. When it finally arrived, I was amazed how lovely the colourway showed up (unlike the online pictures) and the more I worked with this yarn, the more it reminded me of frost on cobwebs. Over the course of this month, I have grown to love the colour of the yarn, as much as the yarn itself.

The silver of the yarn remind me of a frost that coats all things in those short days before winter really gets going, and when you know that summer has truly left. This is a time before all the colours drain from the world around us, and we inevitably plunge into that long cold white season. This yarn also offers up the soft warmth of the cashmere, that asks if not begs you to caress and feel it against your bare skin. It is sensual to the touch, as it is to the eyes.

I am handing it over to Fabio tomorrow, and he will give it as a gift to his wife. In a funny way, I will miss this scarf. I don't know the intended recipient, and not sure when or if I will see it again. But if she enjoys receiving it half as much as I have creating it, I will know it has gone to a good home.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Think you have stash issues? You might want to reconsider after looking at this.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Mmmmmmm Cashmere.....

I finally received this yarn last week, and could hardly contain myself. It is lovely. It is soft, it is warm, and it could be a wonderful little pet. So, I set off to start knitting it up, and ran into my usual complaint. False starts....and the magic number was, once again, four.

Although I tested the pattern out on an alpaca yarn I have knit with before, I have not knit with cashmere and this yarn is something like knitting with spider webs. It feels so delicate, and the best way to knit with it is to have a light touch. Otherwise, it is difficult to do knit 2 together and SSK, and it is almost impossible to unknit when you make a mistake.

Anyway, I have finally got the hang of it and I am quite pleased with the progress. I also had to take some pressure off myself by telling Fabio that if he wasn't happy with the end result he was in no way obligated to take possession of the final product. He told me that he wouldn't of agreed to this little project if he didn't have confidence in my abilities....which I appreciated. I have knit things for people before, but I have never knit on commission (like an art piece). I was feeling a bit of self imposed pressure for a while, but I am getting into the grove of the pattern and my fears are melting away.

Too bad you can't feel this stuff through the computer, it is divine.