wabisabi

True Confessions

In the interest of full disclosure, The Other suggested I needed to show you these three boxes from the new, improved stash organization system:

Obviously, it could use a little tweaking.

Tales from the Stash: Noro Sarubia

Today, from the depths of The Stash, I bring you this:

That is a hank of Noro Sarubia (60% Silk, 40% Kid Mohair).  The picture is good, but doesn't quite do justice to the depth of colour.  In true Noro style, the colour name is "N15", which sounds like some kind of element or whatnot.  Or something used by Russian spies.   In truth, it's a subtle blending of grey/black/taupe/slate green/pale pink.  Kind of like some kind of granite, maybe a Finnish rapakivi granite but with more grey and less pink.

I have 18 hanks of it.

In this case, I knew exactly where they were.

Lemme 'splain.  My stash is divided by two types of organazation systems.  The first is a series of white IKEA boxes, each numbered.  Originally, I had a database set up with the yarn (and all pertinent details) and the number of the box it was in.

But that didn't really work for me.  So I set up System Two.  This exists of red IKEA boxes, but instead of numbers, they are labelled as to what is inside.  For example:

Sock Yarn, Yarn Oddballs, Yarn Leftover from Finished Projects, Shawl Yarn, Shetland Yarns, Shetland Yarns Put Up Into Kits.

And Noro Yarns.  So I knew exactly what box to find the Sarubia in.

To be honest, the bag of Sarubia also contains some hanks of Colinette chenille that matches (green and purple, more subtle than it sounds), because originally I thought I might make something with the two combined, maybe linen stitch or somesuch. 

But I bookmarked the Yoga Wrap in Vogue Knitting Winter 2005/2006, and have been wondering if I could substitute the Sarubia for the Adrienne Vittadini Donatella called for in the pattern.

At first glance, the two aren't interchangeable.  Donatella is 70/30 alpaca/acrylic, and the gauge is 13 sts to 10cm on 6mm needles.  Sarubia is 18 sts to 10cm on 5mm needles.  So Donatella is heavier.  I know, I know, swatching is the only way to go, but a little research never hurt anyone.

I went searching on the 'net to see if I could find out if anyone else had made it and what they'd used.  Jorth in Australia used Rustic 12-ply from the Bendigo Woollen Mills.  Since 12-ply corresponds to chunky weight over here, it's probably a really good substitute for the Donatella.  Jorth's wrap is the smallest size, and it looks really good, well-proportioned -- in fact, it looks better than the one in the magazine.  My Sarubia substitution doesn't look promising at this point.

Then I found that Junieann of the Sable Stasher blog had made it using Noro Kochoran.  Now, Kochoran is 50 % wool/30% angora/20% silk.  More importantly, to me, was it's suggested gauge:  20 sts to 10 cm on 5 mm needles.  So I was interested to see that Junieann's Yoga Wrap, worked in a finer gauge yarn than originally suggested, turned out to be rather large.  Long.  She mentions having to take out a couple of repeats (and I like her way of doing the sleeves, I'm going to have to remember that once I ever get to this).

But I'm thinking that at this point it would be worth swatching the Sarubia to see what it would look like, and doing a little math to see how things would work out.  I'm not much taller than Junieann, and although I would really like a longer, more flowing wrap, there are limits as to how long and flowing it can really be.

However, the Yoga Wrap is essentially just one big rectangle with holes for the sleeves, so, theoretically, it should be just a matter of making sure I can match the finished size (or, if I choose, make it the right sized rectangle to suit me).

Now I've just got to figure out what happened to my Frangipani Gansey yarn (there is no box labelled Gansey Yarn, though there should be) and the copy of Interweave Knits that has Beadwork in it.  Because I saw the swatches for Beadwork on Junieann's site, and now I'm thinking that might be good to have, too.

It's always something, right?

Dang, what you don't find on the internets!

After I wrote the earlier post, I went searching, just out of curiousity, and danged if I didn't turn up a photo of the Brunswick Yarn.

No affiliation.  No idea who/what the shop is. But that's the *exact* colour I have, although my labels all say "Jamaican Ombre".

But now that I've been poking around on the 'net, I've seen the prices this stuff is going for.  I wonder if I could sell it?  I wonder how much hassle that would be?  Or should I just use it? 

I should just use it.  Once I figure out what I should do with it...

So, what about the knitting?

Yes, despite the fact that there have been no strictly knitting posts in a good long while, I am, in fact, knitting.

The last few days I worked on cleaning out the tv room, as we need to turn it back into a bedroom in case we have to put the house up for sale.  But because I generally only knit in that room, there were a lot of things hanging about.  The FLAK sweater, as I mentioned in an earlier post; a barely started sweater from Poetry in Stitches, abandoned when I got nervous about cutting it open and doing the sleeves (stupid.  Really stupid.  I don't know why I throw up roadblocks like this.); a few things that I have to decide about -- I think I'm just going to rip 'em out, as I don't think I was happy with them, and that's why they've been left half-done.

And a Clapotis.  Now at one point, a very long time ago it seems, Ted asked if I'd ever made one.  And I confessed that I'd started one, but had got bored with it, and there it was, sitting around looking forlorn.  I'm surprised, though, because normally I don't get bored with projects.  I might not be happy knitting something for a whole panoply of reasons, but boredom isn't usually one of them.  Anything mindless enough to be potentially boring gets dragged around for things like waiting in lines and doctors' appointments.  But there we are, it was sitting around and all I could remember was that I'd thought it bored me.

Except, I got a new black down-filled coat for Christmas, and it doesn't have a hood, and I lost my MEC earband and can't get into Toronto right away to replace it, and the neckline is a little open anyway, so I could really use the Clapotis.  Mine was made narrower, so it would be more scarf-like.  It's in a wool/acrylic blend (70/30, and washable) that I got on clearance at the Plassard warehouse in France.  I liked the colours -- small repeats of teal, purple, fuchsia, black, and green -- but I never had anything good to do with it, nor anything to wear it with.  I decided that making a Clapotis would make good use of all that colour going on, and I do rather like it.

So that's what I've been working on the last couple of days, hoping to get it finished and out of the way, as I've got a lot of current projects that are now sitting idle whilst I sort through things and make decisions.  I will confess that I'm still not enjoying knitting it.  Part of that has to do with the markers that I've placed between the repeats of pattern.  I'm finding it tedious to move them every six stitches, but they are useful in keeping me on track with the pattern, so they stay.

Also, I'm not really liking the yarn.  I think Clapotis was the best use for it, but I'm finding it kind of ropey or stringy and twisty.

Now, on the theory that one thing always leads to another, I did think, in the end, that having another, wider version of Clapotis to go with my new coat might not be such a bad thing.  I vaguely remembered having some Brunswick Yarns Impressions hand-dyed wool leftover from a coat I'd made (with one strand of the Impressions, and one of Brunswick Yarns Stellar, an alpaca/mohair/nylon and metallic blend -- both in a delicious colourway called "Jamaican Ombre" -- shades of pink and purple and deep salmon with a silver glitter thread).

I figured there might be just enough to make another Clapotis.  I went digging in the stash (more on The Stash in another post -- I'd rather leave this until the Great Stash-o-rama stuff dies down a little bit, as I do have Some Thoughts about Knitting From the Stash), and sure enough.

Eleven hanks of the stuff.

Eleven.

Plus a few odd balls already wound up -- those are obviously the leftovers from the coat.

Now, each hank has 337 yards in it.  I had to go convert, and that's a little over 308 metres.  Per hank.

Times eleven, equals (furiously calculating) 3707 yards or 3388 metres.

For those who aren't familiar with the yarn, Impressions was an single-ply, variegated yarn, that could be matched up with the aforementioned Stellar, as well as Impressions Mohair (all dyed in similar colourways).

There are two suggested gauges given on the label:  5 sts to 1 inch on #7 needles, or 9 sts to 2 inches on #8 needles -- those are U.S. sizes for the needles, and I had to go find a conversion chart for those, too.  4.5 mm and 5mm.

I'm thinking I have enough for a shawl, with maybe some leftover for another Clapotis.  But I have No Idea.  Something to show off the variegated colours well, but not Feather and Fan (I've already got three FandF projects lined up), not plain garter stitch.

I dunno.  Any suggestions?

(And no, there are no pictures today, because it's really dark and rainy and grey here today, and everything I tried was blurry and red. Some days are like that...)