European Accents

All things considered, it was a pretty nice weekend here in Chicago. The temperatures were reasonable and even though we got a little rain, we also got some sunshine in the mornings that let me take some good color pictures of some lovely new spring yarns that Becky was kind enough to help me find.

A Lovely Assortment of Yarns with a French Accent... From Left to Right: Phil'Onde in Chlorophylle, Phil Ruban in Cassis, Plassard Louinie in Black and Phildar Relief

It's really too bad that it is so hard to find Phildar yarns in the US. It's hard for me to believe that they aren't distributed because they wouldn't sell. I think the colors and textures are lovely. Since it's hard to get a good look at the Relief, you can see a close up if you click here. I found a similar yarn in a very expensive yarn store (Caroline's Fine Yarns in Winnetka, IL) last summer and thought it would be neat stuff to play with. But passed it up because it was too expensive to play with. The Phil Ruban (click here for a closeup) is a 100% cotton tape yarn with a relatively fine gauge. I'm very taken with the color and think it looks just dandy sitting next to that springy green Phil'Onde. And you know... there just happens to be a springy green colorway in Phil Ruban. You can see it here Chez Silvia nestled with some lovely magenta and white fabric. The Plassard Louinie will get put in a safe place in my stash until it gets cold again, when it will be used as an accent on something special.

But the star of the show, at least for me, right now, is the Phil'Onde. Phil'Onde is a textured cotton blend that actually decreases in color intensity and you knit through the ball, giving the impression of a shading gradient. The yarn itself (as you can hopefully see below) has a rippled texture to it and is actually composed of two strands, one twisted around the other.

Phil'Onde in Chlorphylle Up Close

Call me an easy mark, but once Bonne Marie started putting her Onde-Along together, I just couldn't resist getting on board. Here, I thought, was the perfect chance to get to do something in a springy green, where the green wouldn't be too close to my face. This green turned out to be even better than in the pictures -- it's got great bluey undertones that I can totally wear near my skin.

It's taking all my will right now not to swatch the stuff!

Actually, there are a lot of things right now that I am fighting the urge to swatch for. Right now I have something of an embarrasement of riches when it comes to my spring summer yarn stash... here's the projects that are on deck for the warmer seasons...

• Audrey from Rowan #35 in Rowan Calmer in NightSky (want to knit along?)
• Rogue designed by Jenna in Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Deep Marine
• Le Pull from Phildar Famille in Phil'Onde Chlorophylle
• Polka Purl Dots from Spring 2004 IK in Butterfly Super 10 in magenta
• Salt Peanuts from Spring 2004 IK in Muench Bergamo in Hyacinth (I got my colors wrong in the previous posts).
• ChicKnits Eyelet Cardi in Lion Brand Cotton Ease in strawberry cream
• Tank Top from Phildar in Phil Ruban in Cassis
• Top to Be Determined in Colinette Enigma (color also TBD)

I'm not exactly sure what project will be up after Audrey... but the Phil'Onde pullover is definitely high on my list.