The Knitting Fiend

Both Angelika and Susinok asked about the Taiga Lada. This 65% mohair, 25% wool, 10% acrylic yarn was tempting all of us. When I first saw it, I was so tempted, I had a hard time not ordering enough to knit a whole sweater then and there.

I didn’t order a zillions skeins because first, I wanted to swatch to see how the colors varied. That’s an important factor in the final appearance of a design. Yarns with long color runs look nice in certain stitch patterns patterns; yarns with short color runs look knit up nicely in other stitch patterns. So, I restrained myself and ordered a skein in the colorway called “Spring Medley”.

When the skein arrived, I found it wound in the shape I think of as “Charmin squeezably soft”. It also looked very fuzzy, and it turns out the Angelika is interested in the amount of fuzz. Of course, I still couldn’t tell how it would knit up. Yesterday, I cast on and knit two swatches, one in stockinet and in “Feather and Fan”.

Because I tend to tension my yarn loosely, I used US size 3 needles and achieved a gauge of 20 st= 4″ and 27 rows = 4″. This is a nice gauge for a sweater; I’d knit at a looser gauge for a scarf. Taiga recommends a gauge of 16 to 20 stitches for 4″ and that seems about right to me. (Taiga also recommends US 7-9 needles, and that is probably what most knitters would use to get the specified gauge range.)

Ok, so how fuzzy is the yarn? Fuzzy! Yet still substantial, and quite soft. I love it; Jim loves it. I know he loves it because he suggested a design: a simple turtleneck in a plain stitch pattern, embellished with a ruffle at the edge of the collar and the cuffs. (Obviously, this would be for me, not him. ) I think his idea is great, and I will be ordering more this summer.

I also think Jim is correct to suggest a fairly plain stitch pattern. As you see, the colors come in short runs; I’d get three to five stitches of a single color and then the color would change. So, this yarn is going to give a watercolor type effect when knit. I think that looks great in stockinette, it will look great in rib, and it will look terrific in garter stitch.

How about in Feather and Fan? Well, I think it looks ok knit up in Feather and Fan stitch pattern, but I think that if I’m going to the trouble of working feather and fan, I prefer a solid color or longer color runs. Long runs of color would accentuate the curving lines of the stitch pattern; short runs interrupt the curving lines. So, I think in this case, I’ll follow Jim’s advice and let the yarn speak by itself.

Oh, if people want to know how to knit feather and fan stitch, I’ll describe that sometime soon. It’s a beautiful classic pattern that makes great scarves and socks. You can also vary the stitch repeat to make the waves deeper or more shallow. But, I thought I’d swatch it in the mono-chromatic Taiga Goat Down, which will show off the stitch pattern more clearly.

I’ll probably do that sometime next week because I’m going to be a bit busy on Thursday. Busy doing what? I don’t know. Jim is taking me out for my Birthday! Whooo hooo!