Hi Knitters,
How's your Labor Day weekend? Mine's quite boring. Really hope to do something outdoor. But before I step out of my door, allow me to make one announcement and review on the yarn Op. 15 is made of.
Labor Day weekend special. Everything is on sale on both Ravelry and Etsy. Price already changed for you. No need for coupon. Hope you find something right for you.
All right, review time. About the Cascade Longwood. It's a new release this year. So soft to touch as it's made of100% superwashed merino. And the color way #12 was exactly that i was looking for. Longwood is made in China, and it is not cheap in terms of price.
Inspired by an outfit of Brown Eyed Girl in their MV "Kill Bill, I originally planned to knit a poncho with four balls of it. And I casted on two hundred something stitches. As the label of the yarn suggested, I used US #8 needles. I guess Longwood just doesn't get along too well with needles in that size. The gauges doesn't look too good to me. It should go with smaller needles. And that's why I later switched to #6 and #7 Cubics while I did Op. 15.
Moreover, I felt much more comfortable knitting Longwood with bamboo and wooden needles. Perhaps it's not too slippery on those needles?
One thing I do like to point out: you'd better not make any mistake while needle with Longwood. I had undone the would-be-a-poncho and found it quite difficult to knit with the same yarn again. It's not impossible. It was just not a pleasant experience. I always had my needles insert "inside" the yarn. See the ply.... So loose........I mean it happens to some other yarns too. It's just a shame: poor manufacturing with very nice material.
Anyhow, I managed to finish Op. 15 with a skein of Cascade's Longwood. It is wonderful to wear the hat on. Speaking as the wearer, it's super comfy. But Longwood is just not my favorite new yarn of this season. I have returned the remaining three balls which I didn't use at all to the yarn shop and got some store credit refunded. Wanna know what I got? Stay tuned and
HAPPY KNITTING
Hi Knitters,
Here is the yarn I think is gorgerous to work with and it's a very good deal to purchase one. It's Stitch Nation's Bamboo Ewe. I usually buy my Stitch Nation yarn from Beverly's. They have great collection of budget yarn. One thing I found disappointing is that Beverly's no longer offers Full o'Sheep. Does anybody know why? Anyhow, Bamboo Ewe contains 55% viscose from bamboo and 45% wool. Made in Turkey.
Bamboo Ewe's reasonable cost does not stop it from being a great yarn to knit with. It's very widely used to knit items for babies. The sheen on its surface brings out a unique appearance to the knitted items while its silky touch texture makes the knits perfect to be worn on sensitive skins. (for people who are sensitive to 100% wool, it's a good news)
This is headband Op. 5. The edge is knitted with Bamboo Ewe with needles US #7. And it"s worn by my friend Teddy Lemon. Pattern available in Ravelry as well as in Etsy.
This history of knitting bamboo is rather short compared to the one of bamboo's other usage: making musical instrument, chopsticks, food, home building.... etc. etc. Anyhow in recently years, the development of bamboo yarn progresses in a rather quick pace.
Wool is not the only material is goes along well with bamboo. Bamboo does very well blended with silk, cotton, nylon, as well as others. I sincerely hope that the usage of plants for yarn making will be the trend of this generation. It is eco-friendly. It opens up more possibility of the art of knitting. Can't really think of any negative impact of developing bamboo yarn in more varieties. Anyhow,
HAPPY KNITTING
P.S. Yesterday I bought two skeins of the Bamboo Ewe in two other colors: pink and grey. Something new will come up soon. Please stay tuned.
