A few months ago (coinciding, not coincidentally, with Christmas) I found myself with some money that was designated for yarn purchase and made the shocking discovery that I no longer have any idea how to spend money on myself.
I wanted something special. I had just made a sweater. I couldn’t buy more sock yarn because the dresser drawer I keep my sock yarn in doesn’t have any more space whatsoever. Nothing seemed right. Sam was restless. I got super stressed and finally asked Stephanie (the shop owner) if she had any cashmere that was heavier than fingering weight (which is exactly like sock yarn, though I don’t know that I’d use cashmere for actual socks). She had some, a worsted that came in a beautiful shade of grey. $26 per 82 yard ball. I grabbed two.
I knew I wanted that cashmere as close to my face as possible, and decided on a tight-fitting cowl (Ravelry link). I held off on it as long as I could stand, and cast on a couple days ago.
Saturday I tried working on it while we were driving out to Vasquex Rocks, but I encountered a knot. Yes, my $26 yarn had a knot in it. OK, I can live with that. It’s handspun, after all. But I discovered last night that cashmere does not spit-felt (at least not the way I was doing it), so now I have two extra ends to weave in.
Last night I picked it up again and got far enough that I can really see how it’s coming along. And frankly, it looks too small. I’ve made this pattern before and the sizing was great, maybe even a bit looser than I like. The needles I’m using this time are a hair smaller, but I think the thick-and-thin yarn is the culprit here. I’m worried about getting the thing over my head, and I’m worried that it doesn’t look as pretty as it ought to.
I bought the cashmere because I wanted a real treat. I understand why it is expensive and believe it is, in general, totally worth it.
But good grief. For TEN TIMES the price of wool* I really think I should not be getting this much grief from my dang yarn. I think I need to work on a different project.
*this stuff is 32¢ a yard, compared with the Cascade 220 I used for my sweater at just over 3¢ a yard.
I own 2 pairs of cashmire socks (from my retail working days) and it’s not as great as it sounds. Cashmire slippers are slightly better.
Bummed to hear that the sweater isn’t turning out quite as hoped, but maybe when it’s all said and done?…
I HATE when that happens. Beautiful (and expensive!!) yarn that just doesn’t work out the way you want in a real project. The culprit for me is generally mohair!! Now I have a basket of pretty and gloriously soft yarn that I’m afraid to use!
test test test
oslowe’s last blog post..Little Deaths
It is frustrating, but hopefully you’ll find that it works fabulously once you match it to a pattern that it likes.
You could always try a Russian join, in place of the spit splicing, if you don’t want ends to weave in (though I’m not sure that Russian joins are any better than end weaving).
Delle’s last blog post..Sigh
I thought of a Russian join, but I’m not sure it would work as this stuff is not plied. Also I didn’t feel like looking for a needle [/lazy].
I went ahead and knit a bit more to see if it’s as teensy as I thought. It’s kind of… in between. It fits great once it’s on but is difficult to get over my head. Since it’s knitted in two pieces, I think I’ll knit the second piece larger and see which I prefer, then reknit the other one. (I decided I do like the way it looks.)