I did quite a lot of knitting in the run-up to Christmas, but haven’t been giving myself much time for it lately. I started a new Clapotis last weekend, and yesterday I dashed out to buy some yarn for a new hat.
(I dyed my hair bright red last week, and I thought a little hat might be a good idea, so I don’t startle everyone at work too much.)
I decided on Bree by Britanny Wilson, which is a plain-ish skullcap. It has a purl rib every nine stitches, and a pretty little bow. Hopefully it should sit neatly on the back of my head, and just let a little bit of red hair poke through at the front.
The yarn is Andes, by Debbie Bliss. I’ve been gently fondling this every time I’ve walked past it in John Lewis, waiting for the right pattern to come along. It’s made from 65% baby alpaca and 35% mulberry silk, and it’s incredibly soft and lovely. Two skeins was enough for the hat, so I snapped them up and brought them home.
The photo above was taken after knitting about half of the first skein.
I must admit that I’ve had problems with dye leaking out of black yarns before (I’m looking at you, Colinette), but this is ridiculous! I’m not even sure if I want to finish knitting the hat. I put a lot of effort into dyeing my hair pillarbox red, and whilst I am knitting the hat to cover it up, I don’t want it to be dyed black at the same time!
Also, as I commented on Facebook last night, I could not have more fluff up my nose if I’d stuck my face in a baby alpaca. This yarn sheds like mad. I’m sure it’ll turn into a lovely soft halo when I’ve blocked the hat and started to wear it, but this yarn is definitely going onto the “never again” pile.
0 thoughts on “Still knitting…”