Grumbles

I haven't done much productive knitting this week, but I have frogged what seems like an endless wad of samples. Every morning, I grabbed my coffee and some neatly caked sock yarn (thank you, Roy!) and spent several hours trying to find an appropriate yarn for a few favored patterns that have been in the Experimental Pile (some of them for years).

After seven days of this, I had a large pile of yarn squiggles and a headache.

What I really wanted was a soft, squooshy sock yarn with long runs of variegation. Well, guess what--there doesn't seem to be such a thing, at least on this planet.

Every pattern looked spectacular in the yarns I don't care to knit with--Trekking XXL, Julia's Vinca, and Noro's Brillo Kureyon Sock Yarn.

Every pattern got lost in the yarns I love to handle--Lisa Souza, Claudia, Cherry Tree Hill, and Soxie.

The basic problem seems to be that the yarns with glorious color variations are not very soft, and the touchable yarns were either too splotchy or zingless.

This conundrum also plagues lace yarn. The long-color-runs are found in yarns that are a bit harsh--JoJoLand's Melody, Yarn Place's Graceful, and Yarn Treehouse's Merino Print. And the touchable yarns--Yarn Place's Gentle,Touch, and Angel, for example, only come in plain colors.

While I am whining, I might as well utter a high-pitched plaintive cry about Angel's color selection. Take that, Yarn Place!

Don't get me wrong--plain colors are lovely and most appropriate for complex lace. But after you've seen LaceFreak's Legends of the Shetland Seas, you'll probably agree that those long color runs can transform a merely pleasant pattern into a spectacular finished piece.

In Other News
I did actually accomplish something this week. Hanabi is half-finished (I will post a picture next time.) And the Vinca yarn from Julia's Craft has turned into an interesting pair of socks. Total cost for the yarn was about $6--2 balls (@ $2.99, 255 yards) are needed for a pair. It's a slightly fuzzy marled yarn and a wee bit splitty.

As you can see, I made no attempt to match the coloration, being a dedicated lazy knitter. Roy says the yarn is quite light and soft on his feet. Knitting with Vinca isn't an overwhelming experience, but the color shifts are inspired, and make me want to keep knitting so I can see what will happen next.