Because it is here to stay and because I could not get some yarn back in the closet, I am working on yet another sweater. Who knows, maybe it will be an almost 10 sweater year.
I am knitting Elysium. I saw this soon after the pattern popped up on Ravelry. Cascade 220 in a rich murky green heather was my first choice of yarn but yarn and pattern did not feel like an urgent project, though the sweater was always on my mind.
As I tidied, I came across a yarn I have had out of the closet since spring. I came across it again when I was tidying up after the great stash out. The yarn is Custom Woolen Mills Mule Spinner 2 ply. Contrary to what Ravelry's yarn database says, this 2 ply is a dense and full worsted weight (the database thinks a 2 ply must be sport).
It is a funny yarn. It feels a little ...I am trying to think up the right word here...Sigh. OK trying again. When it is wound in the skeins it feels hard. Dense. Reserved. It feels a little prairie if you will. It looks like a simple yarn. It looks like it could not possibly have any secrets hidden within, as if it had no layers. It looks a little dour. Prosaic.
Like prairie people, it hides its true nature from those who will not stop to look deeper. It might feel thick and hard in the skein, but the moment you wind it into a ball, magic happens. When you wind it into a ball, it begins to breathe and fluff up and becomes this deliciously soft thick stuff. It feels very sheepy, rich with lanolin, and ... really wonderful.
The true gift is that when you wash it, it blooms even more. In garter stitch, it becomes this thick deep fabric that you just need to wear.
In all the cleaning and sorting and goings on round here, one of the bits I did while waiting for the computer, was wonder what the heck I was going to do with this yarn. I did not like my original plan for it. I liked but did not love my next sweater try. The yarn felt like it wanted to be different. After listing it in my stash, I searched through all the projects made with it. Not a soul used this yarn for a sweater like Elysium, but Elysium is what came to mind.
Elysium is designed for Malabrigo, one of the softest yarns on the market. Mule Spinner 2 ply is one of the earthiest. But this yarn, this earthy dense rich warm yarn seems somehow, just right for this sideways knit garter stitch sweater. Just so very very right. You would not believe what is going on here.
The yarn is black. So there are not going to be a whole lot of photos. It isn't going to take long to do this one up either. It has only been two days and I am past the first sleeve section. Its hypnotic to knit too. Knit in 6 row or 3 ridge repeats, it just zips along and the sweater almost happens without your knowing it.
I think I am fated to like these simple yarns, yarns that feel like home. There will be more knitting with them. To everything there is a season and winter in Canada is the right season for Mule Spinner 2 ply.
1 comment:
I like those down home yarns too. Unlike most knitters in the blogsphere, I am not a fan of Malabrigo. Way too hot for me.
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