Anyway, at the Haus of Yarn's Yarn Bus (they totally have a bus. Full of yarn. Awesome.) I ran across a Wonderland Yarns/Frabjous Fibers gradient set. They had a sample cowl knit up, and friends it got me. I saw the sample, bought the kit and Boom! instant cowl. Those Haus of Yarn ladies know their business.
The yarn is a lovely, squashy sport weight wool. The pattern is designed for lace weight mohair. This is one of those times that being able to see beyond what the designer intended is a really valuable skill. I'm really good at executing on someone else's creativity; I can take a good idea and riff on it like nobody's business. But I'm not always great at seeing the possibilities of changing fiber type or gauge, or hell.... this is such a simple change (five sport weight merino solids instead of one mohair lace weight), and it looks like a completely different project.
All of which is to say, I saw the project, bought the yarn, and knit it up. Friends of the show will recognize how unusual that is for me... and heck, I did it all within months (not years) of buying the yarn.
Go me!
Now, the less good news. It occurred to me... a little late (like, when I was ready to block) that red can bleed, and yellow is a pretty darned pale color. I tried to check for bleeding.
 |
| Highly scientific methodology |
And my early tests seemed to indicate that I was gonna be okay. And by "early tests" I mean "I stuck a bunch of scraps in warm water in a clear cup and watched." Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Anyway, I didn't see any bleeding in my little yarnish microcosm, so I went for it... and (you know where I'm going with this don't you?) yeah. It bled.
My awesome, gorgeous yellow is now... splotchy.
I wish I had done a citric acid soak (as described by Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls) before I started. I further wish that a) my husband wasn't violently allergic to citric acid and b) the frickin' yarn would have been color fast in the first damn place.
Ah well, it isn't very obvious when I'm wearing it (or at least I don't think it will be. It's July in Tennessee, so I've only had it actually on my personage for approximately 45 seconds before I had to take it back off). But even so. I'd be happier if it hadn't bled to begin with.
Ultimately I'm happy with it, and I can see me wearing it a lot during the winter months. The bleeding was a hell of a bummer though.
Project Notes
Pattern: Mohair Bias Loop by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas
Yarn: frabjous fibers Mad Hatter Mini Skein Pack, Dark Rainbow
Total Yardage: 430 yards
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharps, interchangeables
Started: June 6, 2015
Completed: July 10, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment