Several Christmases ago (I cringe to think how many it actually is, so I will leave it at "several") I had been unable to think of a good present for my aunt. My solution to the problem was to take her to yarn store and have her select some yarn that she really liked and I would turn it into a scarf for her. This, I thought, would be easy. There were so many great yarns, so many potential patterns, I would have a gift knit up in no time. It would still be a little late for Christmas, but it would be handmade, and I knew my aunt appreciated handmade gifts.
When I was in high school, my aunt lived in southern Colorado and had a couple of llamas. Later on in her life she was married to a guy who worked on an alpaca ranch. She developed a knowledge and love of our favorite South American fiber-bearing creatures long before the current explosion of interest in both the creatures and alpaca yarn. So it should have been no surprise to me when she selected a skein of "Baby Twist" (in the jumbo format of 549 yards!) from Alpaca with a Twist in the "Bark" colorway. Baby Twist is a 100% baby alpaca yarn. To say that it is soft is damning it with faint praise. The fondle factor for this yarn is incredibly high. Certainly, of all the alpaca yarns that I have worked with, it is probably the softest and least "picky" that I have ever encountered. I could probably wear it against my skin.
I was certain I was going to convert yarn into scarf quickly, so as soon as I got back from Michigan I converted the skein into a ball and set it on my desk, waiting for inspiration to strike me.
And there it sat. It has gone with me on a couple of vacations, never to be touched. It's been cast on and ripped out a few times. Finally it got stuck into the stash for a few years after I re-organized my stash closet, and I forgot about it until my stash migrated from the closet in Ms. Z's bedroom (which was originally my fiber room) to our basement guestroom, which was recently enlarged and which is on its way to becoming my fiber haven. When I found it, I decided I couldn't in good conscience let it get buried in the stash again, so it came back up to my desk again. To wait.
This time, however, the wait was not so bad. I was sorting through the bookcase in my bedroom when I came across the Rivolo pattern that I had purchased along with a merino/tencel blend yarn that I purchased from Briar Rose Fibers. I had one of those light bulb moments and ran back to my desk and looked at the weight and estimated gauge of the yarn. Absolutely perfect. I did a little dance, and with 15 minutes left in the naptime I was enjoying, I cast on.
You might wonder about the wisdom of working a lace scarf pattern in a slightly fuzzy slightly marled alpaca yarn. I did. However, after a few repeats, I stopped wondering and just kept looking forward to knitting. The experience of knitting with this yarn is incredibly pleasurable. As far as hand goes, this would have to be one of the nicest yarns I've knit with. While the picture above hardly shows off the lace, I think it has a great deal of potential. This scarf is not going to look at flashy as it does with a handpainted yarn, but I think it's going to block beautifully. I think it will also work well for my aunt. The selection of a soft brown yarn fits with her well. It looks practical but has a hidden quality that only the wearer really knows about. I think the lace will be like that as well. It may not be as obvious in this scarf, but it will be a little bit of extra beauty that the wearer willl know about and that will not detract from the warmth of the scarf.
The pleasure of knitting with this yarn has allowed me to do something that I rarely do: knit from the "process" part of my brain instead of the "product" part. Normally, my goal is to knit as fast as I can and get to the finish line and enjoy the finished product. But with this, I'm enjoying the feel of knitting so much that I'm trying to knit just one repeat a day so that I can appreciate the feel of the yarn a little longer. It gives me a short time to just pause and reflect and bask in the tactile joy of the craft. This means that my aunt will have to wait a bit longer for the scarf, but given my current track record, that extra time will hardly be too significant.
When I was in high school, my aunt lived in southern Colorado and had a couple of llamas. Later on in her life she was married to a guy who worked on an alpaca ranch. She developed a knowledge and love of our favorite South American fiber-bearing creatures long before the current explosion of interest in both the creatures and alpaca yarn. So it should have been no surprise to me when she selected a skein of "Baby Twist" (in the jumbo format of 549 yards!) from Alpaca with a Twist in the "Bark" colorway. Baby Twist is a 100% baby alpaca yarn. To say that it is soft is damning it with faint praise. The fondle factor for this yarn is incredibly high. Certainly, of all the alpaca yarns that I have worked with, it is probably the softest and least "picky" that I have ever encountered. I could probably wear it against my skin.
I was certain I was going to convert yarn into scarf quickly, so as soon as I got back from Michigan I converted the skein into a ball and set it on my desk, waiting for inspiration to strike me.
And there it sat. It has gone with me on a couple of vacations, never to be touched. It's been cast on and ripped out a few times. Finally it got stuck into the stash for a few years after I re-organized my stash closet, and I forgot about it until my stash migrated from the closet in Ms. Z's bedroom (which was originally my fiber room) to our basement guestroom, which was recently enlarged and which is on its way to becoming my fiber haven. When I found it, I decided I couldn't in good conscience let it get buried in the stash again, so it came back up to my desk again. To wait.
This time, however, the wait was not so bad. I was sorting through the bookcase in my bedroom when I came across the Rivolo pattern that I had purchased along with a merino/tencel blend yarn that I purchased from Briar Rose Fibers. I had one of those light bulb moments and ran back to my desk and looked at the weight and estimated gauge of the yarn. Absolutely perfect. I did a little dance, and with 15 minutes left in the naptime I was enjoying, I cast on.
You might wonder about the wisdom of working a lace scarf pattern in a slightly fuzzy slightly marled alpaca yarn. I did. However, after a few repeats, I stopped wondering and just kept looking forward to knitting. The experience of knitting with this yarn is incredibly pleasurable. As far as hand goes, this would have to be one of the nicest yarns I've knit with. While the picture above hardly shows off the lace, I think it has a great deal of potential. This scarf is not going to look at flashy as it does with a handpainted yarn, but I think it's going to block beautifully. I think it will also work well for my aunt. The selection of a soft brown yarn fits with her well. It looks practical but has a hidden quality that only the wearer really knows about. I think the lace will be like that as well. It may not be as obvious in this scarf, but it will be a little bit of extra beauty that the wearer willl know about and that will not detract from the warmth of the scarf.
The pleasure of knitting with this yarn has allowed me to do something that I rarely do: knit from the "process" part of my brain instead of the "product" part. Normally, my goal is to knit as fast as I can and get to the finish line and enjoy the finished product. But with this, I'm enjoying the feel of knitting so much that I'm trying to knit just one repeat a day so that I can appreciate the feel of the yarn a little longer. It gives me a short time to just pause and reflect and bask in the tactile joy of the craft. This means that my aunt will have to wait a bit longer for the scarf, but given my current track record, that extra time will hardly be too significant.
I love it! Alpaca is the best to work with--and to make clothing out of. It is soooo soft. And cozy. I've made several baby items out of it. I would never attempt a lace pattern, because I am just not there yet...but yours looks fantastic. Kudos to you.
Southern Colorado? Did you just give SoCO a shout out? Hello! I'm here! Waving from Colorado Springs. South of Table Mesa Yarns!
Any chance your Aunt is still here?
Lovely work on a future treasure.
I think you chose well. That pattern looks perfect for the yarn. And it looks like a fun knit as well!
Congrats on getting to enjoy the process! I am working harder on enjoying the process this year. By the way, it looks lovely.
What a lovely pattern! It will look stunning in that yarn. Is it reversible? I can't quite tell from anyone's pictures what the backside looks like.
I used the same yarn in charcoal to make the Montego Bay scarf(Interweave Knits Summer07) last year, so I know what you are saying about the lovelyness of the yarn.It actually looks really good in that lace pattern so I'm confident that yours will too.
That's an inspired use of Anne's pattern. Can't wait to see it blocked.
I'm sure that someof the great people of the world were HUGE procrastinators. I wish this were going to come my direction!