Dear Lincraft:
I hate to tell you this, but there is no such thing as “100% acrylic mohair”.
There is acrylic, and there is mohair. They are two separate things. There is also mohair blended with acrylic. But acrylic which looks like mohair should be described as “100% acrylic”, whether it looks like mohair or not.
On the other hand, I do like a couple of the novelty-type yarns you’ve brought in, especially the one with sequins and the sparkly one. Just no more feathers/flutter, please.
I present my Columbine Peaks!
(It’s really hard to take a flattering pic of your own feet!)
This was a lovely pattern and a pleasure to knit. It has a cool series of little Vs like flying geese around the leg and down the top of the foot, and some sleek 1×1 rib down the sides of the foot which ensures a nice fit.
Here’s a side view:
I am really very happy with them.
Pattern: Columbine Peak, from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi.
Yarn: Something Pamela sent me - an ebay find, I think. Very nice wool - merino, I’m pretty sure.
Needles: 2mm Addi Turbo circulars.
Also in the knitting bag; my copy of Lace Style turned up! I ordered it from The Book Depository. I heartily recommend them. They’re a UK based online bookshop offering free shipping to many destinations, including Australia. I ordered four paperbacks and it cost me a total of $72 landed; I estimate that the cost of buying those books here would be at least $100 and quite probably a bit more. They’re very fast; I ordered on Thursday and the first two books turned up the following Wednesday, with the others coming a few days later. Very, very happy.
As for Lace Style, it contains many lovely patterns. I especially like the jacket on the cover, the Just Right Wrap, the shrugs, the Lacy Waves Top and of course the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan, which would knit up beautifully in some ColourMart cashmere. (You can see pictures of most of the patterns in the sidebar of the Lace Style Knitalong blog.)
As for my knitting, I’m currently working on a cardigan designed by Jo Sharp - a very simple, slightly shaped cardi which I am doing in Colourmart DK cashmere. It’s a beautiful colour - a rich red flecked with black and an off-white colour which I call “parchment” in my head. I’ve done the back and half of one side so far. Also cast on today for another pair of socks; the toe-ups have gone to the frog pond, since I couldn’t decide what pattern to do the leg in. I think this could be one reason I prefer top-downs; I like to do the leg pattern first 
…an Aussie knitter, that is.
The standard yarn weight in the US - that is, the weight that the majority of the online patterns use - is worsted weight. Now, worsted is an interesting weight that doesn’t quite correspond to the standard weights we use here. The most common yarn weight in Australia is 8-ply; this knits up at about 22 stitches and 30 rows on 4mm needles. The next one up is 12-ply, which comes in at around 17 stitches and 23 rows on 5.5mm needles. Worsted weight, on the other hand, comes in neatly in between them at 20 stitches and 26 rows on 4.5mm needles.
Now, what this means for yer true blue Aussie knitter is that lots of really nice patterns like Ariann, Lucy in the Sky, or Sahara are designed for a yarn weight that isn’t readily available here. Your choices are pretty much to pick an 8-ply and knit looser than recommended, to come up with a drapier, less solid fabric; or to pick a 12-ply and knit tighter than recommended, which will give you a stiffer fabric which doesn’t drape quite as well.
There’s also Aran weight yarn, which is a little finer than 12-ply. Trouble is, at 18 stitches/24 rows it’s still a wee bit bigger than worsted weight, and it’s also not as widely available. Jo Sharp makes one and so do Bendigo Woollen Mills, but the Jo Sharp is pricey and the Bendigo has a very limited and traditional colour range. So what’s a knitter to do?
A few people have begun importing overseas yarns; Yarns Online has Cascade and Brown Sheep, The Wool Shack has Cascade and Lorna’s Laces, and The Knitting Loft has Lion Brand. I think this is a great initiative, and good luck to them. I’m actually eyeing off a few things from Yarns Online (I hear Zephyr is a wonderful lace yarn.) But honestly? I’d rather be buying Australian wool. It’s cheaper (especially when you buy from somewhere like Bendigo Woollen Mills), it’s more environmentally sound (because it’s being transported over a lesser distance) and it’s supporting our own industry. If someone out here provided a soft, wearable Australian yarn in a decent range of colours, in worsted weight, I’d be all over them and I’m sure a heap of other Australian knitters would be too. Because some of us really want to knit Ariann.
Ladies and gentlemen! May I present, Socks that really Rock!
Yarn: Socks that Rock from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in mediumweight ‘Rolling Stone’.
Pattern: The shape is the four-stitch top-down from Sensational Knitted Socks, but the stitch pattern is taken from the ‘Gentleman’s Fancy Socks’ in Knitting Vintage Socks.
I really am immensely happy with these. Here’s a sideways shot showing the neat garter edge on the heel flap:
And here… wait a minute… could it be?
Yes! It’s a TOE UP SOCK! I have mastered the toe-up cast-on! Bow down before me, planets, bow down stars!
Ahem. Sorry about that. I have tried so many times to master a toe-up that I’m positively giddy. This was done with a figure-8 cast-on; I’ve tried short-rowing and magic cast-on, and they’ve both got me into a terrible mess. So this afternoon, while Rohan watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I took to the spare room and concentrated very hard, and ended up being happy with my figure-8.
The yarn is ‘Marta black’ by Yarnivorous. The colourway is very Marta-esque - that is, the wonderful Marta Cantos of Marta’s Yarns, who passed away from cancer in January and will be sadly missed amongst the knitters of Melbourne. Here’s a skein shot of the yarn:
Lovely stuff. It’s knitting up very soft and delightful.
