what else can it be named? this isn’t all of it either—this is just the best shot (i love the way it appears to be reclining back on the sheepskin . . . (eye roll) . . . what a diva).
i have two weights; a sample of lace-y weight (on the right) and then the sock weight. when i look close, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference
but when i see it hanging, or in a hank, i can tell. surprisingly, it was easier to achieve consistency at spinning the finer yarn. i will definitely be spinning a laceweight yarn in the near future from this columbia. the fiber really surprised me; from the top i had, i thought it was going to be fairly close in temperament to the BFL, but it isn’t at all.
first off, it does make a lovely, soft yarn, but not as poofy as the BFL—the fibers are straighter but not more stiff. i have not tried spinning the undyed fiber, but that would probably be a worthy experiment.
the yarn is silkier than the BFL, and has a beautiful drape—where BFL is robust and looks like it wants to burst out of itself, the columbia is sleek and quiet. it sailed through the dyeing without felting, taking in the color deeply and evenly, while remaining soft and pliable. the BFL resists dye a little more i think, keeping white patches hidden away inside, and doesn’t seem to become as saturated in color.
once i had those red skeins up and drying i started in on this
this is actually two different fibers (no kidding??). on the left is leftovers of BFL that i dyed in a rose quartz color last summer for another project. i like pink, but i like pink and gray (or brown) together even more. i decided to make a 2-color twist sock yarn using this locally raised romney in a natural brown/gray with the leftover pink.
it’s not my favorite romney (that title would go to beckie’s wool—beckie of the gorgeous shetland fleece fame), but it’s very nice and i have a bunch of it, so i’ll use some here.
unfortunately, i’ve gone off romney a little (except for beckie’s)—it’s hard to find any that isn’t too scratchy. i like spinning it, but then knitting with it isn’t as fun. it’s better when it’s mixed with something else. usually i card it together with something and mixing the fibers makes a softer yarn.
but this time i am spinning the two separately—i haven’t tried that yet and i’m curious to see if i like it.
i had a chance to spend a few hours on the starlight evening wrap last night and the night before. i know this excites you to an unreasonable degree; you’ve been wanting a glimpse, and i’ve said mum about it for quite a while.
ok, i admit it, i was hiding behind my christmas knitting as an excuse. in actuality i just couldn’t make up my mind what to do next with it. i have this vision of a long, sweeping stole that ends in a 12-inch band of some spectacular lace panel, with a sawtoothed edging to fringe it off.
i just want it to be drop-dead stunning—is that too much to ask??
so naturally, after combing every single one of my stitch and lace books, i came up with NOTHING (ok, so my middle name is dissatisfied—that’s just not a good enough excuse . . .). finally last night i had it narrowed down to a couple of choices. i decided to pick one and see what happens. i won’t feel bad if i have to rip out and do something diffferent.
this isn’t a situation where a swatch does me a whole lotta good, unfortunately. we are talking LARGE motif here, so in effect, the stole IS the swatch, at least for the next 30 rows or so. i am giddy with anticipation, and at the same time, i am already suspicious that it won’t be just right.
this is normal—lace patterns (and many other kinds of stitches, too) look horrible in the first few rows off the needles, and i am always sure i made a wrong decision once i’ve picked one (we don’t need to talk now talk about how often i am right about that . . .).
i’ve learned to suck it up and knit at least a whole repeat, and preferable two if the pattern is smaller. lace, maybe more than other stitches, needs to be seen as a completed picture to be appreciated. and this almost always includes blocking too (though it is possible to fake blocking for the sake of getting a good look, and i have been known to take that shortcut . . .).
so now, without further rambling, i shall head off to explore the shores of my evening wrap.
22 thoughts on “red heart yarn”
The lace looks good to me, but then I don’t see the vision you have in your minds eye. Does looking at the picture help you get a better idea? I’ve found in the past that sometimes I’m just too close to the knitting. Taking a picture puts a bit of distance between me and my work so I can really appreciate it.
Wow, I really LOVE that lace pattern so far! And I agree that the pink and brown/grey will look very nice together.
What a surprise finish! It looks extremely promising. (I have indeed been waiting–somewhat impatiently–for more news about your Starlight Evening Wrap!) The name seems to call for “stars”, at least in an alternative version. Would it be at all feasible to add tiny crystal beads to the shawl body?
Oh Anne, I wish I had your patience – the shawl is exquisite; I don’t know how much closer to perfection you can come!
That wrap looks gorgeous to me. I love the depth in the lace, and the shapes look very taj-mahal from here.
Anne, I agree with all the other gals–that wrap is just looking gorgeously amazing so far!! It’s way to late for me(my eyes are even blurry and everything), and it still looks stunning.Bea-u-ti-ful!
Beautiful lace!!!
I sure hope you don’t “have to rip out and do something different”
The Red heart yarn is beautiful (never thought that was a sentence I’d write)! Isn’t it interesting, the difference in wool between breeeds of sheep? It’s not all just “wool”.
i love the color of the red heart and the lace is looking so pretty.
anne – I like the texture of the stole. It almost looks like two different patterns on top of each other. It has a nice depth.
that grey and pink are going to be great plied together – not colors you usually see!
i love the lace motif you added – it echoes parts of the body of the shawl yet is different.
You’re so close!:-) I have faith–you found a great edging for the Moth shawl, you’ll find a great one for this piece of lace too.
Really, really huge and sweepy please.
Are ya totally sure you want to use those words — Red Heart and yarn — together in one place? Watch, they’ll sue YOU for producing something so much more exquisite and beautiful than that — that — stuff they sell on the grounds that it confuses the consumer. I just cracked myself up!
I’m with you about Romney. Just not very partial to it as a whole. Too coarse for my delicate sensibilities (snort).
I do like the larger motif for the lace border, but mull over it. I’m sure you’ll come up with just the right thing, even if it takes a while!
The lace is wonderful – I can’t wait to see your progress.
Love that red (or is it magenta?) yarn, but please don’t name it that. It would be like naming a baby girl Cheap Crack Wh***. (Ouch, did I just write that?)
Looking forward to seeing how that lace panel turns out. It looks great so far.
I’ve just jumped over from the yarn harlot’s site and I’m hoping you can help out with a pattern for mitts to be made from Anny Blatt Alpagor (alpaca and angora) yarn. Like you I have a pink and gray complex and the pink and gray of the ball I bought are a perfect reminder of one of my favourite parrots, the Australian galah. The wool is very warm and soft – perfect for cold Wagga mornings.
Have you created a pattern for mitts that I can purchase that would accommodate this yarn? It’s a bit bulky – #8 needle with a tension of 5st/inch.
The pink and grey rovings look like glowy sunset clouds and ominous rainstorm clouds.
Ooooh! I can’t wait to see the rest of the stole. It is just gorgeous in that deep blue color.
The red yarn: gorgeous!
The pink: not really my thing, but lovely all the same.
The blue lace: fabulous. Looking forward to seeing more!
Add to my Bookmarks 🙂
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