Sunday, January 02, 2011

Yarn That is Just Too Pretty To Use

I have been reading a discussion about using up yarn that you have that is your holy grail. Every knitter has some of this yarn. It's sitting there waiting for the "perfect" project. I am determined to knit some of my precious yarn. You want to see it? Because, honestly, it's so pretty & I couldn't limit it to a couple because I have a bunch of it.

Black Bunny Fibers
Alpaca Silk
Black Bunny Fibers lace
My friend Betty gave this yarn to me & it is positively stunning. I LOVE silk because of the sheen it adds to the yarn & the alpaca blend makes it perfect perfect yarn. And that color - oh my.

Bijou Spun Bamboo / Yak from Bijou Basin Ranch
Bijou Basin Yak/Bamboo
This company had a booth at Stitches East when I went to last year. They were on my list of booths to see because I have a cat named Bijoux & I thought it was fate. I was so overwhelmed that I completely forgot about it until the last day. This was my last purchase - a splurge on 2 skeins of bamboo / yak yarn. But I know why I haven't used this. Their most recent product is a dyed, color version of this yarn. I saw them in person a few months ago & OMG they are STUNNING. Now I am dreaming of buying some colored yarn & doing stripey scarves in alternating colors. It is a bit of an investment, these gorgeous, expensive scarves, so that's going to have to wait a bit.

Handmaiden Sea Silk in Stardust
HM Sea Silk - Stardust
Sigh. This is maybe my favorite yarn ever. I love it in the skein, I love it knitted up, I love working with it, I love the final product that it makes. Did I mention I love silk? I won a Survivor pool (yes, I bet yarn on reality shows & no, I don't have a problem - that's not why I stopped at all) and I got a lot of gift certificates to The Loopy Ewe so I bought this yarn with those certificates. It's such a great color & looks truly silver on this base, which is really hard to find. It is destined to become the Eiffel Tower Shawl. I planned to make this to wear in Paris, but that never happened. I'm more determined than ever that this is what it is going to be though. I'm a little worried that I will run out of yarn, so I was waiting for enough people to finish it that I can get a better idea of if I have enough yarn to make the larger size, which is what I would prefer. Need to get on that research because it will be a divine project & I have already bought the pattern. Natalie has a ton of great patterns - check her out.

Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere
Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere
This is maybe the softest yarn that I own. I bought it on vacation in Destin last Christmas & immediately decided that it needs to be a Tibetan Clouds Beaded Shawl from The Knitter's Book of Wool. I even bought the beads for it, but now I'm not sure. Since I've been wearing some of my shawls, I find the rectangular ones harder to work into my everyday wardrobe. Thus the stalling on this yarn.

Shelridge Farm Soft Touch DK
Shelridge Farms Soft Touch DK Storm
I heard great things about this yarn & when I saw it in person at Stitches East, I had to have it. This color was an "accident" - she mixed her blue with forest green & this is what came out. It is completely gorgeous & is on the forefront to become a sweater for next fall. Right now I'm thinking Coraline.


The Fibre Company Road to China Light
in Dark Amethyst
Road to China Light
This yarn is positively dreamy & I have no idea why I bought it or what I'm going to do with it. Alpaca, Silk, Camel, & Cashmere. Seriouly.

Wollmeise Blaue Tinte
WM
I think all of the Wollmeise that I own is gorgeous, so I don't really know why this yarn in particular is just too precious for me to use. It is SOOO hard to capture the true color of this yarn - the color literally glows. It's one of those yarns that I can't seem to decide on a worthy pattern for. Right now Trevi from Anne Hanson is winning, but you notice I haven't cast on for it yet.

So what is your precious, too pretty to knit yarn? I'd love to see it. And I'd love to see you knit with some of it in the new year. Happy 2011!