The Center of the Anomaly

2012 – A Yarn Odyssey: Coda December 31, 2012

I finished the first shawl in time for Christmas for the guy at work and he was well pleased. I haven’t talked to him since we did the hand-off Christmas Eve so I’m eager to hear if his wife was pleased as well.

I’ve started on Mom’s shawl now, which is the exact same one I just made. I’ve also continued with making one out of the gray qiviut yarn as well since I already had it started. I alternate back and forth and have seven squares each. The qiviut is easier to work with and the squares are faster to make. Incidentally, I figured out one of the enduring puzzles of this stuff which is why it isn’t softer than it is. Anywhere you read anything about this yarn touts the softness as being softer than cashmere. Well, it’s not. At least the brand I’m working with isn’t. I was suspecting that maybe these people were selling inferior quality and keeping the good stuff for themselves. Happily that is not the case, all it needs is a good soak and gentle hand-washing in some warm water and Woolite and the yarn “blooms”. By which it means the fibers loosen up some and get a bit thicker and considerably softer. It’s a bit like washing the starch out of a new shirt. The squares also lose all of the curl out of them and lie perfectly flat.

I mention all this because I showed Mom the difference between the before and after washing. And now, even though I’ve already told her I’ve switched to the cashmere yarn for her shawl Dad tells me she thinks I’m still making it out of the other stuff. Dealing with older parents is a bit like dealing with people who smoke pot: you can often have the same conversation several times but it’s new to them every time. I told him not to correct this misunderstanding so it will be a nice surprise for her.

Now that I’m completely used to working with high quality lace-weight yarn, the regular yarns feel ridiculously thick, rough and downright uncouth. Yesterday I went through and culled a bunch of the lesser yarns out of my yarn pile. It was a significant reduction. If I wasn’t a yarn-snob before, I sure as hell am now.

After I’m done with these two shawls I’m going to be done with granny squares for quite a while. It’s time to move onto other things. I’ve been buying books – lots of books with lots of nifty patterns. The next thing I’m going to try are socks. I didn’t have much luck at knitting socks, but I’m a better crocheter now than I was a knitter previously so I’m very hopeful that I can whip out some really cool socks.

Have a Happy New Year!