Planet Estrogen

I've been in a bit of a knitting funk the last month or so. I'm about half way through Roam and as much as I love the yarn and the pattern - my eye has been wandering. Roam is being made from Lisa Souza's alpaca and silk yarn in the Mahogany colourway. I had a chance to try on the original Roam last fall when I took a workshop from Laura Chau and the Big Sea Silk is lovely but looks a bit different from the picture in the pattern. I did want to replicate the shades as they appeared in the photo so the Lisa Souza appeard to do so. I've been alternating skeins every other row to mix in any variation from skein to skein. When you're dealing with hand dyed yarn - things can get quite funky. This yarn is so lovely and the seed stitch really tones down the variation in the yarn. I've begun the second front piece even though it's getting a bit sticky to be working with Alpaca! It was about 32 degrees Celsius today.

I had mentioned a few months ago that I was eagerly anticipating Louisa Harding's Summer Classics collection. In particular, I was eager to get my hands on this pattern. It's a lacy cabled cardigan called Kitty. It's made from one of her yarns called Cinnabar which is another one of those Frankenyarns that are so popular now. This stuff has: Viscose, Cotton, Acrylic, Silk, Linen, Polamide and Acetate - whew! The sample in the book was done in a natural colour but I chose a lilac shade (#10) with flecks of wheat and gold. There's just a hint of a sparkle too. So subtle you almost think you're imagining it. I decided to cast on a few weeks ago and was delighted to discover that the pattern was easy to memorize and on 5mm needles - this front piece is zipping along quite quickly. Kitty with its frilly, summery, girlie vibe is a nice complement to Roam's sportier tone and manner.

I've also zeroed in on a probable contender for Printed Silk Cardigan. I may be a wee bit late to the party but I'm 0nly now discovering Malabrigo Silky Merino. It's a dk weight but on 3.75mm needles knits to a sport weight gauge which is perfect for the pattern. I swatched with a variegated shade called Indecita but this design begs a semi solid so the delicate twist pattern doesn't get lost. I nabbed a shade instead called Rupestre which is a luminous raspberry colour. I really see the shine in this one which I also think is important for this pattern. I was sorry to hear that there was a fire at the Malabrigo factory but I'm told it was only smoke damage. Jocelyn at Stitch has some of the Madras Perla set aside for me as well. Just doing my bit to provide support to the yarn company in their time of need.

So in the end it was a little frou frou that saved me from knitting boredom. Must be my estrogen kicking in...or all the promos for Sex in the City.