Things have been busy at Casa de Wolfandturtle and the rest of the week isn’t going to be any better than the first of the week was. Eeep! I hate running around - I can’t knit while I’m driving! Oh well, there is at least the possibility of Chinese for lunch today and that makes a lot of things seem better - kinda like brownies but with an accent. And without the chocolate…
My mind is narrowing down the possibilities for the mohair. I even swatched for a shawl idea last night but had to frog it when I realized I didn’t have the faintest idea what to do with the sides. Still, I’m cautiously optimistic as it seems my head is finally coming to some sort of arrangement with that yarn.
I did do an experiment, however, in the interest of future working up and eventual wearing. I knitted a swatch (my standard swatch - seed stitch edges, stockinette inside).
Before
The label on this stuff says that it’s machine washable, but I have been warned not to believe that. Hmmm… So I took this swatch and washed it - not in a machine of course, I’m not running to the laundromat at 11:00 at night to test wash a mohair swatch (and try saying that three times, fast!). Ran a large bowl of warm water and added a bit of combination shampoo (shampoo and conditioner all together). I swished, I swirled, I agitated like a maniac. I twisted, wrung, spindled, folded and mutilated. When I was done, I rinsed it - first in very hot water and next in ice cold water. Then I subjected it to more physical torture while getting all the water out of it that it was possible to get. And then I laid it flat on a towel to dry overnight.
The result?
...and after!
A cleaner, Früctis scented swatch not one whit smaller than it had been in its pre-washed state. It was also much softer. The only thing that happened during the washing test was that it crocked very slightly. I don’t think I would have a problem washing whatever gets made out of this on a very gentle cycle - but I’d still be chicken to put it in the dryer :)
More mitts
I started another pair of the crocheted mitts for a special project that I will tell you about later if all goes well. It’s the yarn here I wanted to discuss - assuming I’m not the last person on Earth to work with it. Which, of course, is entirely possible :)
It’s Araucania Nature Wool and it’s really nice stuff. The colors are gorgeous in their slightly mottled and shaded appearance. I got this at A. C. Moore and while I quailed at the price initially, when I saw that it was a 100 gram/240 yard hank, I realized $7.95 wasn’t so bad. After I’d worked with the yarn for a bit, I realized it really wasn’t bad :). I’d have to knit with it before making a fixed decision, but I will definitely be trying this stuff again!
But I’m confused. The yarn refers to itself as “aran” weight. To me it seems more like a light worsted. I thought aran was slightly heavier than worsted - not heavy enough to be called bulky - but heavier than standard worsted. Of course none of this is an issue so long as you’re careful about gauge. I’m just terminally curious about terminology and the vocabulary of gauge seems to be a moving target. Every time I think I understand it, something comes along that throws all my conclusions into a cocked hat :)
Her Royal Heinie
Jade was lurking in the hallway this morning. While it may appear that she is protecting and defending Myria’s pumps, I believe what she’s really doing is waiting for Goldie to move far enough away from the food bowl as to not offend her delicate sensibilities. HA! She’s about as delicate as a lead pipe, heheh…she just doesn’t weigh as much, thank goodness!
Happy mid-week everybody!
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The Araucuna seemed lighter weight to me, too. I made socks that called for worsted weight out of it and they were great. It’s such a nice subtle color change. The mohair certainly held up well. You might consider that it will grow a bit without the edge stitches around to hold it in place.
Love the wool—that purple variation is just dreamy! Your kitty is pretty. How many do you have?
~DAWN
Aran weight is usually thicker than worsted, or at least thick enough to be described as “heavy worsted”. So, no more than 4st/inch. It’s technically a British yarn weight and they don’t have a worsted weight! It goes DK-Aran, so you can get some Arans that are really just worsteds. When I worked at a yarn store in Manchester I remember having to post special signs when we started carrying Noro saying “Kureyeon and Silk Garden are Aran weights”. But even in Britian, the Arans are 4st/inch.
yarn terminology is almost too annoying to contemplate- i think there have been efforts made to ‘standardize’ the name/gauge thing but i haven’t seen any good results from that yet- most places use the listing aran/worsted and i just go with the idea that an aran weight *can* be used interchangeably with the worsted- i think at some time it was actually a bit heavier than worsted, but now you can buy it and find it is slightly less so than worsted- are we all confused here now? i could go on at length about the differences among the chunky, bulky, light bulky, polar weights too, but it all gives me a headache-
what all the variations really does is make online purchasing a problem unless you’ve already used the yarn before and have a good idea of the gauge-
aha, the secret project- very interesting!
that mohair just looks better and better i think- i’ve subjected mohair to gentle cycle machine washes with air drying before without any problem- having said that, remember that i am also guilty of being ‘the accidental felter’ on occasion too-
stay happy-
Margene - Thanks for the feedback on the Araucania :) I would never have thought about this for socks bt oh goodness - what a yummy pair of socks it would make!
Dawn - I have two cats. Goldie, who we’ve raised since he was born and Jade who is about 8 yrs old and whom we acquired from a friend last summer. Goldie and Jade haven’t reached detente yet - but it’s fun to watch them negotiate.
Jenny - Thanks for the explanation. It’s nice to know I wasn’t nuts after all - just the victim of relaxed nomenclature!
Barb - If I ever get it all figured out, I’ll make up a chart. Then I’ll throw it away because by the time I’ve finished it, things will have probably changed a couple of times over :)
oooh—that nature wool knits up fabulously. I bought a bunch of it with the intention to make a holiday sweater for my mom a while back, and haven’t even started (and HOW many days before Christmas!? Yikes. Maybe a mother’s day sweater instead….). But I’m glad to see how it knits now. Thanks! :)
Eliza - While the piece in the picture is crocheted rather than knitted, I don’t believe the difference would be significant. It is very lovely stuff to work with!
Good luck on your Mom’s Christmas/Mother’s Day :)
