The Counterpane Square tally stands at 8 completed, and #9 was more than half-done when the yarn for a test knit arrived. I'll be finishing that off tonight, and can then resume working with cotton carpet warp.
After I finished #8, I made a pretty little stack of the four squares you see above and noticed that #7 had a definite blush to one corner of it. I think what happened is that I'd not totally scrubbed the red dye off my hands from a previous knit, and the yarn got colored as it passed through my fingers. I've soaked and washed the square a few times, and the pink is next to invisible now. Hooray! It's also much whiter than the other squares. I should have expected that -- the yarn was made who knows how many years ago, and is on its third owner.
One of my blog readers asked me what my most-used needles and yarns were. Hands-down, size 2.75mm needles are my most-used, when left to my own devices. They're my go-to sock needle, to the point that when I was doing a year of socks, I wore out a few sets of birch needles before putting some Signature dpns on my Christmas list. 2.75mm needles + fingering yarn = happy me. I could easily use nothing but that size for the rest of my life and not run out of things to knit. They're perfect for socks, and if I jump up to 14" dpns and Frangipani Gansey yarn, perfect for ganseys. Although the Frangipani is a bit rough on the hands, it wears like iron and I wouldn't mind having a lifetime supply of it tucked away somewhere. The Counterpane is being worked on 3.00mm needles -- just a wee bit bigger, for a nicer drape to the square. They'll be my most-used needle until I finish the project!
I'm also a fan of Shetland Lace. Fleegle's Gossamer Web Etsy store is dangerous for those who like tiny yarns. I've only worked with Phoenix (52/2) but have made a square shawl and a nice long stole from it, on size 0 needles if I remember aright.
For colorwork, I love Jamieson and Smith yarns, but have only worked with them once. For Latvian mittens, something a bit finer is better. Well, better if one is aiming at 15+ stitches to the inch. The finer the gauge, the more time I can spend knitting and the less time planning the project! (In retrospect, that sentence isn't exactly clear. As the stitches get smaller, the amount of time required to knit a given project increases, while the planning time stays about the same or increases just a bit.)
3 comments:
Third owner of the yarn, and it is now getting used..The yarn is happy! And, I'm sure that is the kind of deal on yarn that makes you happy :)
Funny point.. "the finer the gauge.. the less time planning." Is that counting?
Or do you still have to count?
There's still counting involved, but except for one spot (to figure out when to start the first bobble), I don't have to count higher than 4. And counting to 4 is easy, most days.
They are beautiful! And, I dont see any red :)
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