Monday, December 10, 2007

The French Tweed Follies :)

My apologies again to those who tried to join Chatters Saturday night and couldn’t get in.  My site hosts had done some “updating” on Saturday that completely messed things up and the entire site was down for about 24 hours.  I missed you guys terribly and I sure hope that doesn’t happen again soon!*

*I’m too pragmatic to hope that it never happens again because I know better :)

I played with the Unger French Tweed all weekend.  I did do some work on dad’s socks, but that’s it’s own story and I’ll get to it later :)

First, a swatch.  This was done on size 5 US (3.75 mm) bamboo needles - just stockinette with garter edges.

This stuff is surprisingly inelastic for wool and I had feared that the twist would result in biasing when the yarn was knitted up.  That didn’t happen, thank goodness.  However, like plant-based yarns (cotton, linen, etc...) it didn’t like the bamboo needles.  Metal pins would have worked better.

The resulting fabric was...rough - very rough - almost abrasive.  Any garment made form this wool would have to be fully lined to be wearable or worn over something else - like a parka :) Trust me, you don’t want this touching your skin.  I suspect if it were knitted with small enough needles, it could serve well as body armor.

All that means is that I won’t use it for clothing of any kind.  However, I decided to try stranding it with some undyed fingering weight and working it up on size 8 US (5.00 mm) needles - metal, this time :)

This is kind of pretty, I think.  The cream, wandering in and out of the orchid/grey creates an almost lichen-like impression - the bright pink slubs not withstanding :) The two yarns together make a much more supple fabric and the cream wool considerably tones down the rough feel of the tweed.  Notice at the top of the swatch, are a few rows of seed stitch.  Kind of hard to see, aren’t they?

I went from that to this:

The lace diamond is only so-so, in my opinion but despite premonitions of unsuitability, I went on and created another diamond out of bobbles :)





No, I don’t know what I was thinking either :) Using a tweed as a component of a marl isn’t necessarily a bad idea - but it does make for a busy yarn.  So busy, in fact, that just about any kind of design element is swallowed up.  If it shows at all, it’s as a spot in the fabric where things looks a little muddled.

So, my tentative conclusions are these:

1.  The French Tweed should only be used alone for pot scrubbers, sandpaper or chain mail.

2.  The French Tweed/Peruvian Highland combination is a winner.  One dresses the other up and the other tones down the one.

3.  The resulting marl is interesting enough in and of itself to require no further fiddling around.  Keep it simple, stupid :)

4.  There is enough of both of these yarns to create three or four panels for a blanket.  There is also enough cream colored worsted weight to create alternating panels which can be highly designed since the worsted weight yarn is plain.

5.  Ooooooooooooooooohhhh :)

The Saga of the Socks

I am trying to finish dad’s socks up to give to him on Wednesday - since that’s when I will next see him.  So, last night, having worked the leg of the second sock to about six inches, I reached for the completed first sock to compare them.

No first sock...not in my knitting basket, not on the coffee table, not tucked down into the crevices of my chair, not on the floor under the chair (or under the coffee table) - no sock!  I searched in every other reasonable place I could think of.  I do sometimes bring my knitting into the kitchen - did I lose it there?  Nope.  Did I put it (god knows why) into one of the knitting bags under the coffee table?  Nope.  And most fearfully, did one of the cats carry it off to have their way with it?

As it turns out, nope :) I finally located the miscreant, folded up in a blanket at the end of the bed - perfectly safe and sound.  My best guess is that someone “wore” (thanks to static) the sock into the bedroom, sat down on the end of the bed - depositing the sock (the famous bum/bed transfer maneuver), and the sock got folded into the blanket when the bed was made.

Or that’s the theory anyway…

What a grumpy, yucky looking Monday it is up here.  We’ve been getting ice all night and the roads have been treacherous this morning, or so I hear.  Myself, I’m terribly grateful not to have to drive anywhere today :) I lit a candle and sat back and relaxed.

The wolves’ council and I hope that wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you’re snug and warm.

Happy Monday :)

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1. I’m so glad you found that sock! My heart was racing as I was reading. Losing a sock is horrible.

   Posted by Opal  on  12/11  at  02:28 PM
   Location : Honolulu, HI



2. Opal - I’ve never had this kind of thing happen befoe - I’m afraid I got a little crazy trying to track it down!  It was just the weirdest damned thing.  I’me really glad to have it back because, you know, you just can’t give somebody half a pair of socks.

   But I may have to warn dad the one of them likes to wander :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  12/11  at  04:44 PM
   Location : I won't tell if you won't :)



3. the ‘orphan sock syndrome’ is well-known around here- i know the dryer is responsible for breaking up pairs of purchased socks (it’s a conspiracy) but we have on occasion lost handmade ones too- i keep singles in the sock orphanage for an eternity and once a decade finally give up and toss the lonely things- then, without fail, the mate will show up-

   how very different the second strand of yarn made your swatch- and why does a bobble diamond seem perfectly suitable when coming from you!!!

   stay happy-

   Posted by  on  12/12  at  02:33 PM
   Location : looking for christmas spirit



4. Barb - What can I say?  Bobbles - I love the pesky little things :)

   The socks (both of them!) were most gratifyingly received this morning.  “They’re just my color!”, he said…

   Posted by Robbyn  on  12/12  at  05:37 PM
   Location : I won't tell if you won't :)

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