Interesting Yarn

A while ago I came across the most interesting yarn at the yarn store. It was a yarn from Lang called Oasis. Its more of a novelty yarn than anything else, but like all things, it has its place. Never diss a yarn. It may be just the thing you need one day. Bits of novelty yarn - good. Full novelty yarn - bad is my mantra.

The moment I saw Oasis, I knew I needed it. It was exactly right to go alongside a rather dour green I had in my stash. It was a bit too olive for my tastes. The colours of the Oasis lift the dourness from the green and like the layers of an onion, would reveal the green heart of this very nice Peruvian Highland yarn.

Strangely enough, in this photo, the green has gone brown, though the same green in the Oasis shows true. The swatch is for a sweater I have in the deep planning stages. I am thinking about running cables along the colour changes (not my idea, I first saw the idea decades ago in a Woman's Day publication or some such) on the front with everything else being the plain and simple green.

I know the goal of the project, but to get it right, I have to think about the scale of the stripes. Too wide and the novelty yarn will take over the front, and to narrow, and the novelty yarn will look out of place. The cable has to be the right scale too. The cable crosses have to flow into the other yarn like water. If the cable is too wide, the effect feels out of place. Balanced order is what I am after, giving each yarn its due.

But am I working on that?

Nope. I am working on this. I eyed this yarn for a different top, a cute little garter stitch thing that would have shown off this boucle yarn really really well. With its strong garter stitch ridges running horizontally, the top did not look good on me, so I opted to give this plain Jane capped sleeve top with an interesting construction a try instead.

We are off t0 the mountains later this week, and this little top was meant to be campfire knitting. I seem to be getting a lot done on it, so maybe by the time I get to the campfire, I will be sick of it. Never fear. There are socks to be knit, and socks are always great campfire knitting.

Sock season has suddenly appeared in all its glory. Our first frost is imminent and regular frosty nights are mere weeks away. Sock season is here and I need more pairs. The entire sock blank drawer is coming along. There will be yarn along for a couple more sets of shortie sock blanks and with luck, all these socks will be well heeled footwear when I get home again.

For good measure, I am going to take along some yarn strictly for crocheted socks. Full winter is going to need their thick impenetrable warmth.