Meet the Yarn: Ava

It's delightful to write about a lovely yarn in a very happy colourway as a contrast to the frigid weather outside. What yarn is that?

It's one with perfect twist, bounce, drape, and most importantly smoosh. I want to do more than introduce you to my favourite sport weight yarn, I want you to meet and get to know Ava. Let's get swatching.

Ava Au Natural in all of it’s pure, creamy, bouncy perfection.

Before we get to the fun stuff, let's get some numbers out of the way. Ava is 330 yards of the same 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon blend you know and love in Cloud, Squishy, Cricket, and For Better or Worsted. What makes it different? It's a sport weight. Ok, I hear you say, Squishy is fingering weight and Cricket is DK. Do we need this sport weight?

Yes.

Let me show you why.

Look at these knitted swatches. I'm sorry that technology is what it is and you can't feel them. The round yarn sings and begs to be worked.

As I spent quite a bit of time squishing my garter stitch swatch, I knew it would work well for crochet.

But before I show you my standard swatch views, I want to show you something else. On the left is the knitted garter stitch swatch. On the right is the single crochet. Look at the smoosh!

Ava swatches. Garter Stitch on the left, Single Crochet on the right.

Look at that height! The nice thing about crocheting a sport weight -- there isn't heavy bulk.

Ok, let's look at the basic stitches in Ava, single crochet, half double, and double crochet. Isn't it stunning?

Look at that stitch definition!

Ava crochet swatches in single crochet (front), half double crochet (middle), and double crochet (back).

Stitches sing in this yarn. Choose your favourite music. It works in everything I tried!

Based on this granny square, don't you want to treat the granny square crocheter in your life to an upgrade to a cashmere blend? With so many colors to choose, I'm sure you'll find one for them.

Want to be more adventurous with your stitches?

Look at Ava in a simple lace. Stunning. It's not bulky. Add a little picot to that stitch and it'll take a star role.

Want texture? I'm out of adjectives. Sorry. I really wish you could touch this. It's squooshy.

Ava crochet swatch in a textured stitch.

I think Ava is a great yarn for crocheters who want something a bit heavier than Squishy but don't want their fabric to be bulky.

I want to take one more moment to wax poetic about this beautiful colourway. I love it against the endless grey that is winter. This colourway feels as if Opal asked if was ok to turn up the bright dial to max and Sabrina said yes. I've surprised myself by loving this colour. I don't think I'd wear it in anything I'd make as the primary colour, but it would love to be an accent/highlight.

_All swatches are in the Misfit colourway with 3.75mm needles and hooks, any perceived differences in shade are due to the photographer._

Penny Shima Glanz spends her days spinning yarn and code into memorable projects. Small businesses rely on her for smart technology decisions. Designers rely on her to sample, test, and edit their hand-knit and crochet patterns. She loves muddy trail runs, fosters kittens, and lives in Westchester, NY with her husband and cat. www.pennyshima.com

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Meet the Yarn: Dreamy

What happens when you create a fingering weight yarn that combines Merino with Cashmere and Silk? The result is definitely Dreamy! I loved working with it so much I made a few extra swatches! My experience with Dreamy was extra special as I was able to work it up in one of my favourite colourways, Dark Matter! Every speckled skein is unique!

The 3-ply yarn structure creates a very round stitch that looks beautiful knit in stockinette and in garter stitch. I think it can be worked into anything, the pattern ideas show how it knits into stunning lace, textures, cables, and more. The silk and cashmere beg to be worn! When knit into garter stitch, the combination of fibers does something superb to it that I can't find the words to adequately describe.

Dreamy swatches, knitted garter stitch and stockinette

My granny square swatches show what happens when I don't take notes! I crocheted the first granny square (the one that is 4 rounds) with a 3.75mm hook, the other (5 rounds) with a 3mm hook. Ok, 0.75mm does that make a difference? Yes! It is apparent that both squares are almost the same size! What hook should you use? It depends on what you're crocheting, granny square or otherwise.

The stitch definition on the simple stitch squares shows how wonderful this 3-ply is for crochet. I haven't figured out how to photograph it, please believe me that the swatches have beautiful drape. The stitches are defined yet graceful.

Dreamy swatches, simple crochet stitches

The windchill is fierce as I write these words, so I'm struggling to say much about my lace swatch. I've been abusing it as it's sat on my desk waiting for me to finish this review. It still looks as good as the day I blocked it. Maybe I'll wait and rereview all the lace swatches when it's warmer outside.

The swatch I love best, is the textured swatch. I spent all my time oohing and aahing over it instead of mining the thesarus for new words to use to describe why. Look at the colours and the stitch definition!

What can you crochet with Dreamy? Whatever you wish ! This is a versatile yarn for crocheters. The fingering weight can work up quickly without adding too much bulk. The blend combines the different fibers special qualities without overpowering any one element. This is a yarn that I now dream about!

Dreamy

75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere, 10% Silk

+/- 385 yd / 352 m

7.5 sts / in US #2

All swatches are in the Dark Matter colourway , any perceived differences in shade are due to the photographer (Penny).

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Meet the Yarn: It Could be Worsted

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

Hi there! I’m back after a hiatus, and there are still fabulous Anzula yarns to be reviewed, so let's leaping back in. Next in the lineup is It Could be Worsted.

“It could be worse” than this soft, yet strong worsted blend of 50% silk and 50% merino. I have to admit that I love this yarn and wasn’t at all upset when I realized I had to reknit my Tangiers sample because I had failed to return to seed stitch after completing the moss stitch neckband. Yup, I ripped it back to the end of third Arabesque, then decided to just go all the way back and reknit the whole thing.

JillWollcott-in-wrapped-Tangiers-anzula-it-could-be-worsted.jpg

I also did my standard gauge swatch, beginning with garter, moving to stockinette, on to seed stitch, then rib, and on to moss stitch. Unblocked, there was some biasing in this yarn. I used US size 6[4mm] needles, but liked the fabric I got, so don’t think that was a problem. Although there was some biasing, I was able to block it flat so it wasn’t a long-term problem. It did unsettle me though! Biasing is leaning in one direction and is usually the result of the way the yarn was spun. If it blocks out, it is usually not a problem. I just caution you to do a swatch and to block. Having noticed these things swatching, I might not knit a large piece in the round.

I’ve looked through the projects on Ravelry, and don’t see anyone with problems, although there are not many comments. I was amused to see my notes were equally incomplete! There are 58 stashes, and 53 projects. Such a great yarn needs more love! Looking online, it sells for about $38/skein, so a single skein project might fit into a lot of budgets. My new Tangiers pattern is made with two colors in It Could be Worsted (shown in Gumball and Aqua), and a version in a single color (sample uses For Better or Worsted).

The yardage is 190 yards or 174 meters to 114g or 4 ounces. There were several games of yarn chicken, probably owing to the 10 yard difference between It Could be Worsted and For Better or Worsted! Judging by what I have remaining one could knit opposites of Tangiers. If needed, some fudging could be done to make it work.

So let’s get to the details:

Do be sure to take extra time on the blocking. Pinning it to shape should do the trick. I also steam blocked mine. The Tangiers 2-color Scarf just needed a little patting into shape when I steam blocked it after wet blocking it. Due to the small number of stitches, no biasing occurred.

Worsted is a great weight for knitting gifts—the knitting goes pretty fast and in this yarn, it looks super impressive—everything we want in our gift knits. The colors are sharp and clear in this yarn, I thoroughly enjoyed Gumball and Aqua both.

Tell me why—in the comments—you think there are 10 fewer yards in a skein of It Could Be Worsted than in a skein of For Better or Worsted. I’ll do a drawing and give away one Tangier’s pattern for every 50 comments. Deadline for comments is October 9, 2018.

You can find It Could be Worsted at these shops:

Admit Ewe Knit - Raleigh, NC
Amazing Threads - Maple Grove, MN
Baskets of Yarn - Charlotte, NC
Do Ewe Knit - Westfield, NJ
Fiber Artwork - Huntsville, AL
Harps & Thistles - Cuyahoga Falls, OH
KnitKnit - Couer d’Alene, ID
Knitorious - St Louis, MO
Knitting Garden - Coral Gables, FL
Sated Sheep - Dripping Springs, TX
Swift Stitch - Santa Cruz, CA
Online @ Kitterly.com

You’ll find more great pattern ideas for It Could be Worsted on our Pinterest page here!

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog: http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
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