First off -- I did accomplish my mission of last night to finish the baby present. All that remains to be done is to give it a wash in the washing machine and then to send it on to Boston where the good friends and new baby reside. I don't think Sue checks my blog out, but until she gets it, I'll hold off on the pictures and commentary on the project. Suffice it to say, I am happy it is done. Does anyone know if Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino can go into the dryer as well as the washer? I've been searching for info this morning but haven't come across anything conclusive yet.

I altered my "deal" with myself yesterday so that I could have a few treats along the way in the finishing process. I let myself start the Summer Tweed swatch. When I finished the first edge, I got to cast on the swatch. When I finished the second edge I got to do the garter stitch border... just little bribes so that I could try something new while I finished something old. Here's a picture of the swatch, minus my usual messy desk background (this picture also represents my first foray into trying to use the magical parts of PhotoShop). The little jacked in yesterday's post is called "Pebbles" and the body of it is primarily moss stitch. The swatch has a garter stitch border and moss stitch inside, but with this yarn it is difficult to tell the difference.

I was pleased with myself, because I did knit to gauge on the first try with the suggested needles. Here's a closeup of the swatch to give you a better idea of the color (no PhotoShop magic here because I got lazy...)

First impressions and comments on Summer Tweed, which is a 70% silk, 30% cotton blend and is pretty much dry clean only...

1) This stuff has exactly NO elasticity. It pretty much stays where you put it. For me, this means that I really have to remember to snug up edge stitches and not pull too hard on anything that would lead to creating a gap.
2) I did not like the way it knit on bamboo needles -- too much grab. I switched to my Swallow Casein needles and liked the process much better. I suspect metal needles would work well, too, althought that might be too slippery.
3) This yarn has 2 plys, and it can split, although it doesn't split easily like some other yarns. The Swallows have more rounded, shorter points and this also decreases the likelihood of accidental splitting.
4) Because of the lack of elasticity, I find that this stuff takes more effort to knit with than does wool-based fiber. It has definitely slowed my pace down a bit.
5) The yarn is not at all scratchy and feels nice against my skin -- almost like a broken in terry-cloth washcloth.

I like the look very much. Powder (the color I am working with) ends up having a very "faded denim" look to it when knit up -- I love blues in this range, so it's perfect for me. I think it's going to be a great little jacket thrown over a T shirt and jeans.

If I like the way this project comes out, I would very much like to do another pattern out of the same issue of Rowan Magazine, Dune(I'm very into lace edges right now), but maybe in a very different type of color -- there are some lovely colors in the "deeper red" or purple range (like Sunset and Brilliant) that I think would be great.