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Aslan Trends

55% Cotton, 45% Viscose

100 g = 240 yds.

Gauge: 5-6 sts/in. on US 4-7 needles

My Color: 947

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

From their website: This sport-weight cotton-viscose blend is delicate, fun and with a soft light sheen. Its a gorgeous extra light yarn perfect for that special spring summer project.

There is a very nice sheen to this yarn, and its drape would make it great for a summer or dressy but not hot shawl. It would be equally pretty in a sweater. There are many colors to choose from, and the tone on tone quality makes the yarn more interesting.

Mericash Express 2

Mericash Solid

Punta del Este Yarns

80 % merino wool, 20 % mongolian cashmere
50 grs. = 263 yrs.
Gauge: 24 sts /4"

My Color: 414

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

Pattern: Waves of Grain, Knitty.com Fall 2008

So soft, so gushy. I loved this yarn. It is heavier than laceweight, but makes beautiful lace with a little more body. As you can see from the swatch, it would make a beautiful scarf or shawl. Baby clothes would be equally beautiful, though they would need to be hand washed.

Give me a little Hempathy

Hempathy

Elsebeth Lavold

40% Hemp, 40% Cotton, 20% Modal
50 g=175 yd
Gauge: 22-23 sts /4" on US 4 needles

My color: 015

From the Elsebeth Lavold website: A lovely yarn, made up of 40% Hemp, 40% Cotton and 20% Modal. The hemp content provides for a great drape and a linen-like feel, the cotton adds softness, and the modal provides elasticity.

I agree with their description, but for this swatch, I held two strands together throughout, and thus, ended up with a thicker swatch. One strand would definitely be drapey and nice shawl. The website also gives links to several patterns using this yarn.

Mericash Express

MERICASH KALEIDOSCOPE
Punta del Este Yarns
80 % merino extra fine, 20 % mongolian cashmere
50 grs = 66 yds.
Gauge: 19 sts. to 4 in.

My Color : Kal01

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

I loved this yarn! It is very soft and natural feeling. It's very lightly woolen spun, so pilling may become a problem, but I'd LOVE to have a coat out of this. It will be very soft and very warm.

Hi Ho Taiyo

Taiyo

Noro Yarns

40% Cotton, 30% Silk, 15% Wool, 15% Nylon

100 g=220 yds

Gauge: 4-4.5 on US Needle size: 7-8

My Color: 4

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

My Pattern: Aria by Lynne Barr from her book, Knitting New Scarves

Another lovely blend of colors by Noro. The yarn is soft, but there were several little colorful stick-like things stuck in here and there. I just pulled them out as I came to them. This little scarf-ette swatch was fun to do. If you haven't seen Lynne Barr's book, I suggest you check it out. Very interesting.

Country Cashmere

Country Cashmere

Filatura di Crosa

70% Merino Wool, 30% Cashmere

50 g = 46 yds.

My Color: 302229

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

A nice, cushy yarn, woolen spun, so prone to pilling. Would make a nice warm hat, thick scarf, or heavy coat, though the pilling might be a problem with the coat, where there is more friction.

Elsebeth Lavold Angora

Angora
Elsebeth Lavold
60% Angora, 20% Wool, 20% Polyamide
50g = 91 yds.
Gauge: 17 sts /4" on US 7-8 needles
My Color: 026 Citric
My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

I expected this yarn to be limpy and wimpy, as some angora yarns can be. However, it was surprisingly robust. It made a nice, thick swatch, and I can definitely see it in a very cozy cardigan, or a hat and gloves for a nice warm winter set.

Playing Possum

Kia Ora 8-ply

Rimu Blend

Zealana Yarns

Distributed in the US by Yarn Sisters

60% Merino Wool

40% New Zealand Possum

No gauge information is given on the label, but I used a US size 9 for this swatch, and got 3.5 sts per inch.

My color: Boysenberry

My source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

From the Yarn Sisters website: "Like the deep, rich-colored timber, native to New Zealand, this sumptuous yarn is strong and hard-wearing. A blend of 60% fine New Zealand Merino and 40% New Zealand possum fiber with a silky, warm touch you’ll have to feel to believe! "

This is not the animal you find dead on the side of the road, or live hanging from a tree by its tail here in the US. No, this possum is a different animal, and its fiber is nearly as soft as cashmere, and quite durable. New Zealand is overrun with these animals, which are native to Australia, NOT to New Zealand. You can read here to learn about the eco problems they have caused in that country, but the upshot is, we now have a new fiber to knit with. It is quite lovely, soft, cushy, takes dyes well, and is a joy to knit with.

Rowan Tapestry

Tapestry

Rowan Yarns

70% wool and 30% soybean protein fiber

50 Grams=131 Yards

Gauge: 5.5sts per 1" #6 US needle

My Color: 172

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

One of my pet peeves: knots in balls of yarn. Within 5 rows of knitting 22 stitches, I encountered my first knot in this ball. Still, the colors are beautiful, the hand is soft and comfortable, and the sheen is lovely. If you don't like Edamame, you can get your soybeans in your yarn!

Koigu Mori

Mori

Koigu Yarns

50% merino and 50% silk

185 yards

Gauge: 7 stitches per inch on US 3

My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

Another beautiful yarn from Koigu, but this time, there is silk involved! It's just like the KPPPM sock yarn, but is 50% silk. It feels great, knits up beautifully, and comes in a gorgeous array of colors.

Rowan Damask

Damask
Rowan
57% Viscose 22% Linen 21% Acrylic
Approx. 115 yds/50g
Weight: DK
Gauge: 5.5 sts/1in on Needle: US 6
My Color: 41

A very pretty yarn with very little pattern support. It's much softer to work with than a pure linen yarn, and would still make a cool, lightweight garment.

Alp Feza

Alp

Feza

3½ ounce (100 gram) hanks of approximately 210 yards

Gauge will vary according to the size needle used,from 5 sts per inch on US #8 (5mm) to 3½ sts per inch on US #13 (9mm)

The poor man's answer to Prism yarn. Beautiful colors, all different yarn types combined.

Noro Kureyon

Kureyon

Noro

Fiber: 100% Wool

Yardage: 110

Gauge: 5 st per inch on US needle size: 7

My color: #188 - Moss, Purples, Navy, Black, Pink

My source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

I made this sweater to match the Kureyon socks I made. This is a medium soft wool of beautiful colors, but unfortunately, it has slubs of unspun fiber along the way. To manage these slubs, I just wet those spots and rubbed the heck out of them between my hands to felt them down to the same size as the rest of the yarn.

Kureyon Sock Yarn

Kureyon Sock

Noro

Fiber: 70% Wool, 30% Nylon

Yardage: 462

Gauge: 7.5 per inch on needle size: 2

Just like the heavier weight Kureyon, this sock yarn also has the little slubs of unspun fiber along the way. I used the spit splice method to whittle them down to the right size.

Silk Garden Sock
Noro
40% wool, 25% Silk, 25% Nylon and 10% Mohair.
Yardage: 328 yards
Gauge: 6.5 sts per inch on a US #3 needle.
My Color: S8
My Source: Knit Stop, Indianapolis, IN

This will make beautiful socks and scarves, in a bit heavier that normal sock yarn weight. The color changes are very pleasing and typically Noro.

Shepherd's Wool

Shepherd's Wool

Stonehedge Fiber Mill

From their website: This three-ply yarn is spun to 1000 yards per pound, which in 4-ounce skeins is 250 yards per skein. It knits like any commercial worsted weight yarn, about 5 stitches to the inch on size 6-8 needles. This yarn is worsted spun, meaning it's very very smooth and almost shiny in appearance. It will give great stitch definition for intricate patterns such as lace, cables, and knit/purl patterns.

I LOVED this yarn! It is so very soft and fluffy, yet has beautiful stitch definition. It would make a spectacular Aran sweater, soft enough to wear right next to the skin. I found this at Stitches Midwest, and fell in love with it. These folks have milled other people's yarn for several years, and finally decided to manufacture some of their own. We are the luckier for their decision. You will not be disappointed with this yarn, nor with its price: only $8.99 for a 250 yard skein.

A Robin's Egg in a Pear Tree

4-ply Baby Yarn
Pear Tree Yarns
100% merino wool
50 grams = 175 yards
Gauge: 6.25 stitches per inch on US 3 Needles
My Color: Robin's Egg
Retail Price: $10.00


What a nice surprise this was! Notice the little specks of color in the close-up. This yarn is incredibly soft and wonderful to work with. It would truly do well for baby projects, or anything you want to wear next to the skin. It was so soft that I was sure it had alpaca or angora in it. But, no, it is just 100% merino wool. And a fine wool it is, too. It comes in heavier weights for larger projects as well. I highly recommend it.

Mongolian Cashmere 4-ply

Mongolian Cashmere 4-ply

Jade Sapphire

100 % Mongolian Cashmere
Gauge: 4¾-6 stitches/inch on US size 3-5 needles
55 grams = 200 yds.
My color: 68 Raspberry Mousse

Retail price: $36.75

Another hit from Jade Sapphire. What's not to like about cashmere? This stuff is incredibly soft and wonderful to work with. The pattern here is from 200 Stitch Patterns for Baby Blankets. It is called GROTTO and is pattern number 113, and is crocheted. It was enjoyable and easily memorized. I could have kept knitting this one forever!

Cruisin'

Cruise
Twinkle Yarns
70% Silk, 30% Cotton
50 gms = 120yds
My color: 39 Periwinkle


This yarn is a skinny, multi-ply yarn. In order to make this pattern, the Hamptons Halter (from Twinkle's Big City Knits), you have to hold 4 strands of the yarn together. That is, you must wind 4 hanks into 4 balls, then wind the 4 balls into one ball. That was a royal pain in the tush. If I was to do it again, I would probably just use a fatter yarn to begin with. But, I did what the pattern called for. There were only a few times when a ply got away from its friends and gave me trouble. The silk makes this a very nice yarn. Another warning abou the pattern, though: Something is wrong with the directions for the large size bra part. The bottom went along very quickly, but once I got to the bra part, I ended up taking it apart many times. I'm a pretty good knitter, but this one got the best of me. I was working on it while at Stitches Midwest, and Shelly, owner of Knitterly in Peta Luma, CA, said a customer of hers made it and had no problems, but she made one of the smaller sizes. Therefore, I think the problem is in the large size directions. I ended up just making the bra part in stockinette. The girls with me all thought it looked better that way for a bustier girl, anyway, to have less going on in the bra.

Rock Star & Cleopatra



Cleopatra up close


Cleopatra Ribbon
Tilli Tomas Yarn Co.
Nile threaded with large European Glass Beads
65% Dupioni Silk, 35% Bead
Gauge: 6.5 stitches = 4 " on recommended needle Size: #11
100 gr = 65 yds
My color: Burnt Orange

Rock Star
Tilli Tomas Yarn Co.
Spun silk studded with round glass beads
Pure and Simple studded with European Glass beads
70% Spun Silk, 30% Beads
Gauge: 5 stitches = 1 "on recommended needle Size: #7
100 grams = 100-150 yds
My color: Burnt Orange

To see this beautiful garment, click here . It is a shawl I made to test the pattern my friend, Nancy George, designed. It is called Simply Heaven Jacket/Shawl. The pattern can be purchased at http://www.knit-stop.com/ .

While I LOVE most Tilli Tomas yarns, I must say that this batch of Cleopatra was terrible. There are so many strings/ravelings hanging off, and the glue she uses to stick the ends together is awful! I couldn't believe a $47 skein of yarn could be such poor quality! I've seen other colors/hanks that weren't this bad. So check out your hank before you buy. I was glad when the Cleopatra part was over and I could move on to the Rock Star! That stuff is great!