june cashmere

on small family farms

in the mountains of kyrgyzstan

nomadic shepherds tend to the elite goats

whose soft cashmere undercoats are used to make yarn.

and what a yarn this is!

it’s an example of the world’s harshest environments

producing the very softest natural fibers.

img_5911cashmere is, of course, known for it’s softness.

what surprised me about this yarn is its amazing stitch definition.

just look at how the cable motif

from amy van de laar’s

”beeswax mitts’

pops!

img_5922i’d rank this new to me cashmere yarn

right up there with my leslie wind cable necklace

and indian lake artisans’ hexagonal wooden needles

(and if you know my taste at all, you know that’s high praise).

want a skein for yourself?

follow this link and enter to win.

i’m ending here, as this lovely yarn is just begging me

to hunker down and knit a bit more before bed…

note: now for just a little of the nitty-gritty.

i was given this skein of june cashmere dk to review,

but, you know me, a free skein of yarn (even if it’s cashmere)

isn’t ever going to make me say that i like what i don’t.

i’m much too stubborn and pig-headed for things like that.

‘soft’ taken from 65: 9-11 in the psalms.

woodlands scarf

it is always so interesting to me

to see where an idea started and how it ends up.

today, swan’s island company released their fall 2016 collection.

my ‘woodlands scarf’ is one of the pieces.

if you like the ‘behind the scenes’

part of stories, here

it comes.

i thought that swan’s island was looking for patterns for their bulky weight yarn.

i was wrong, but that’s what i thought at the time.

i love chunky yarns and that attracted me.

so, i sussed out a new cable swatch and sent it along to be considered.IMG_2115sq

and they wanted it in the collection,

but in worsted weight yarn.IMG_1474sq

submitting designs is funny like that.

i once had a super bulky weight design accepted,

but was asked to rewrite the idea for a dk yarn

and you know what? i couldn’t picture it, but it looked great.

creative directors have visions for things that

i can mostly not even begin to imagine.

i just love the woodlands scarf stitches all done up in worsted.IMG_2116sq

in natural colors merino worsted,

both the yarn and the stitches shine, but

i never would have thought to try it without a little

push in that direction.

the photo above is the center back of the scarf.

you knit from both ends and wind up in the middle

where you graft the two end lengths together

so that the cool cable happening occurs right in the very center of it.IMG_2114 up2as a perk for designing it, i get enough yarn

in the yarn and colorway of my choice,

to knit one to keep.

i chose the same yarn the original is in, because it was so nice.

now, how well do you know me? can you guess which of these

gorgeous colorways i chose for my own?

and which one would you choose?

‘keep’ taken from 18:28 of the psalms.

it continues

the snow

just won’t stop.

flakes have been gently falling for two days

with a big 50 mph wind storm due to hit day after tomorrow

IMG_8701cropand drop over a foot more snow.

it was fun at first,

but has long since lost its charm.

so what do i do when

grey skies and blizzard warnings are

imminent?

i block knit things.  truth.

because this weather gets my forced hot air furnace

in full swing and things soaked and pinned today will be ready to go tomorrow.

IMG_8696crop

that kind of progress makes me feel

like taking a look out the windows

and still seeing

white snow on the roof of my neighbor’s white painted house under the grey white sky,

might just be bear-able.

(although it does make me growl a bit.)

‘truth’ taken from 13:6 in first corinthians.

 ‘allure fiber wash‘ courtesy of bijou basin ranch.

note: you know me and the strength of my convictions.

i am not one to be swayed by a little free bottle of fiber wash.

end result?  i really did like this stuff.  a lot.

do the twist

any yarn can be cabled,

but not all of them do it well.

with a yarn that is too soft, you loose the crisp detail.

with a yarn too stiff, the gaps from pulling to twist the cables don’t fill in quite right.

IMG_4346cropi adore this simple cable knit up in

mountain colors hand-painted yarns’ ‘3 ply wool’

(shown in the colorway ‘sandstone’).

lots of stitch definition

and enough give to make the cabling look unforced.

today i’m still swatching,

but i feel like the yarn and i have almost

come to an agreement over what it intends to be.

more pics and the inspiration behind the process soon…

‘give’ taken from 18:36 in the psalms.