Knitty Yarn Tasting

Last night I attended my third of these events and I would say it was my most coherent effort in terms of testing and rating the yarns up for consideration.

First of all, since my last two outings I've spent time swatching and just playing around with yarn. Considering properties and possibilities with full attention on doing just that. No frothing at the mouth, madly getting the swatching out of the way so I can cast on for some tantalizing new project. Just sitting, concentrating on nothing but swatching. So last night, having had some of this kind of experience, I was able to slip into that mindset as I worked with the yarn being tested.

Secondly, the group was a very serious, task oriented bunch. The Purple Purl was quite quiet considering it was filled with 30 odd knitters. So that aided in being able to focus on what I was doing.

Finally, I think the fact it was my third time going through the exercise meant I wasn't frantic keeping up with the process of choosing needles, casting on, knitting, trying NOT to talk about the yarn - much harder than you'd imagine - filling out the assessment form then every 20 minutes picking up hot beverage, coat, bag, swatch, both needles, form but NOT pen (they stay with the table)and moving to another while all 25 other knitters struggle among chairs and tables and each other to do the same.

The yarns we got to play with were...

Drops Silke Tweed - A nubby string like combination of silk and wool in what seemed to me to be fingering weight.

Tivoli - A mix of silk and mohair. The colourway we worked with made me think of Rapunzel spinning gold. Soft, smooth, rich. The sheen of the silk with a modest mohair halo. Very decadent! This was the only yarn of the evening I would be likely to ever buy.

Angel from Lorna's Laces (the variegated green centred in the swatch - see its fuzziness in relation to the others?)- Angora and Lambswool - soft and weightless - kind of surprising in that the colours were quite dramatic despite the demure texture of the yarn. Okay maybe I'd buy this one too!

Panguipulli from Araucania - In the skein it really looked like those "black magic" pictures we used to do in school where you coloured in a sheet of paper with crayons then painted over the whole sheet with black poster paint and then when it was dry, you scraped the paint away in a design of your choice to reveal the multiple colours beneath. Th effect was less noticeable once the yarn was knit up but still reminiscent to my eye at least.

Granite by Loop d Loop - This yarn is kind of like a puffy ribbon yarn in the skein but then the stitching or whatever it is that makes for the flat shape, acts like the spine of a book once you knit it, allowing the two distinct halves to fold over like a book closing. So the knitted result just looked like chunky yarn. My needles weren't big enough so maybe if I'd had the 9mm needles the yarn calls for and knit it carefully as you do with ribbon, it might have created a different effect.

There seemed to be lots of purchases made after the testing was done. Nice to see the gracious ladies of the Purple Purl get some business after being so wonderfully hospitable once again. Nothing came home in my bag though. I'm just not good with spur of the moment yarn decisions and I didn't plan to buy anything so empty handed I did leave.

BTW...If you're wondering what happened to my FO post on the Eyelet Cabled Cardi - its essentially done and ready to go (And I've been wearing and enjoying the warmth of the sweater itself this week) but I've been having trouble snagging a photographer in the these busy days as school terms wind down and My Beloved is off "across the pond" on another business jaunt. Hopefully tomorrow it'll go up!

Thanks for dropping by! And to all my American readers, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day yesterday and will have an enjoyable holiday weekend!