Mixing It Up.

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Shibui's yarns. According to Ravelry, I've completed ten projects with their yarns, including Heichi (worsted weight raw silk), Staccato (fingering weight super wash merino and silk blend), Silk Cloud (lace weight mohair and silk blend), Linen, Merino Alpaca (worsted weight merino and alpaca blend) and - most recently - Pebble (a lace weight silk, merino and cashmere blend).

Four of these projects feature "mixes" - holding together multiple strands of one or more yarns. Admittedly I've become slightly obsessed with the whole idea of blending the different fibers and textures to create the perfect "yarn" for a project. One of my favorite mix-ins is Silk Cloud. I added it to Heichi for Garance (project details here) and to Staccato and then Merino Alpaca for two Mix No. 9's (project details here and here). Something about that silky mohair, with its fine halo and shimmery core, takes a beautiful yarn and makes it truly stunning. It also plumps up…so instead of knitting with a fingering weight, it's DK, or instead of worsted, it's aran. And that means fewer stitches per inch, resulting in quicker projects.

my Mix No. 9 - Staccato and Silk Cloud

I knit Mix No. 9 for the first time last winter as part of our knit-along. I followed the pattern as written, holding together one strand each of Staccato and Silk Cloud (to make a DK gauge). I'm not gonna lie…it was a lot of knitting (nearly 900 yards on size 7 needles). But it was most definitely worth it. The finished piece is beautiful, wearable, warm (it's gotten lots of use this year!) and stylish. My daughter has borrowed it multiple times, but when I offered to knit one for her but she said "no". She wants to knit it for herself … someday (yes, it's a lot of knitting!)!!

can you see the halo and the shine from the Silk Cloud?

Ah…but she needs the cowl now! So I tweaked the pattern a bit and used a chunkier mix (Merino Alpaca and Silk Cloud, which knits up at an aran gauge), bigger needles (size 10), fewer stitches and a lot less knitting! I was delighted with the project (you can see all the details on my Ravelry page here); and she loves it, too!

her Mix No. 9 - Merino Alpaca and Silk Cloud

Heichi and Silk Cloud would be perfect for another chunky version. I'd suggest size 9 needles and a few more stitches. But if you don't mind all the knitting, I think Pebble and Silk Cloud would be stunning. That mix knits up to a DK weight (which is what the pattern suggests), but I'd still go up a needle size to an 8, and reduce the stitches just a bit.

In summary, here are suggested alternate mixes, skeins, needle and stitch counts. Follow the pattern as written except for these changes (and feel free to ask if you have questions!)

• Merino Alpaca (4 skeins) and Silk Cloud (2 skeins) - size 10 needle; 52 stitches.
• Heichi (5 skeins) and Silk Cloud (2 skeins) - size 9 needle; 56 stitches
• Pebble (4 skeins) and Silk Cloud (3 skeins) - size 8 needle; 64 stitches

Have you tried mixing it up? Which mixes are your favorites? and which ones do you want to try?

Touching a Unicorn.

I saw this tweet a few days ago and instantly thought "yes, that's it exactly!"

Like many of you, I'm knitting Shibui's Mix No. 9 for the current shop KAL and that's my first experience with the absolutely stunning Silk Cloud. I joined my second ball (of three) last weekend and I am in love. It's soft and shimmery just like a unicorn should be. and it's surprisingly easy to knit with (as long as I have enough light :-) even though it's a laceweight yarn. The mohair makes it not-so-slippery and the silk that runs through the core gives it strength so it's not so easy to break.

That same morning, I also saw a blog post featuring Julie Hoover's Garance .  This sweater is a bottom-up seamless pullover that combines another Shibui favorite, Heichi, with Silk Cloud. Yep, two Silk Cloud mentions just a few hours apart.


I'm sure no one's surprised that a few seconds later my thoughts shifted to "I need to knit more of it. now."

I have the Heichi in the pattern-suggested Caffeine colorway in my stash. Oh yes, this must be a sign; I need to knit that sweater.

I now have three skeins of the pattern-suggested Camel...

and Garance is next up in my sweater queue.

The neutral color is what fits into my wardrobe, but the sweater would also be great in a color...like purple. or blue.

L-R: Peony SC, Graffiti Heichi, Velvet SC, Fjord SC, Canal Heichi, Caffeine Heichi, Camel SC

If the Heichi sweater seems a bit heavy, why not consider the Silk Cloud Pullover . This is a top-down seamless pullover knit with the Silk Cloud held double. It's light as air and would be perfect to layer over a long-sleeved tee or a camisole to wear year-round. Right now, though, I'm loving that Apple colorway...just in time for spring!

So...have you touched the unicorn (yet)?

Announcing our Next KAL.

photo (c) shibui

Yes, it's official. We are going to knit Shibui Mix No. 9 for our next Knit-along. It's an infinity scarf, knit length-wise and then joined - after a single twist - with a 3-needle bind-off. The pattern stitch is a variation of seed stitch, which, in my book is the perfect social project. Really, it's the kind of project that demands company and conversation!

Listening to that cold north wind howl outside my kitchen window, reminds me this is also the perfect project to wear. ...long and loose, or doubled around your neck, or pulled up to create a hood.

The pattern suggests Shibui Staccato and Silk Cloud - one strand of each held together. You'll need 5 skeins of Staccato and 3 of Silk Cloud (or 1,000 yards of any DK-weight yarn).  One of the nice things about Shibui is that the different yarns come in the same colorways.

How about pink?

colorway nude

or green?

colorway apple

or teal?

colorway fjord

We'll be casting on (with a provisional cast-on - here's my favorite) two weeks from today. That's Friday, January 4, 2013 around 2pm.

Hope you'll join us!

I'm ready...once I spend some time with the ball-winder!