Knitting with Madelinetosh - Yarn Review

Knitters all over Ravelry make such a fuss about how much they love Madelinetosh yarn, I decided I might as well see for myself and bought some to try.  After agonizing over the mouth-watering array of choices, I settled on several colors of Tosh Merino Light (TML) to get started with.  

The colorway selection is impressive, with everything from solids, to tonals/ semi-solids to variegated combinations.  This stunning green color is called Grasshopper. 

Madelinetosh.com describes Tosh Merino Light as:   A 100% superwash merino wool, single-ply fingering weight yarn.  With a generous 420 yards per skein, one skein is more than enough yardage to complete a pair of socks and two skeins can complete a full-sized lace project. Each incredibly soft skein is hand-dyed in small dye lots. 

This yarn has an interesting fuzzy halo, often in a different color, that stands out from the main fiber strand.  Even skeins that appear to be one color are, upon closer inspection, layered with multiple analagous colors that give the yarn the incredible depth that knitters rave about. 

The wool itself is silky and lustrous, and very soft without being limp, knitting up into beautiful projects with amazing drape and very little color pooling or blotching.  

My little shawlette in the Calligraphy colorway had only one or two minor spots of darker color, most others were in the fuzz and easily picked off the surface.  And in all of the 10 skeins I've knit with this yarn, I believe I may have found only one knot - wow. 

The yarn is so beautiful that it looks wonderful knit in the most simple of designs, but even something a little more complex is enhanced by the depth of color.  The same shawlette design shown above is also shown below, knit in stripes of boldly contrasting gray colorways Tern (dark) and Silver Fox (light).

Interestingly, some skeins of the same dye lot had a different feel to the touch and a differing amount of twist, leading me to believe that although dyed together, they were from different batches of base yarn.  The green skeins were so tightly spun that they liked to kink around themselves and had to be controlled in  little plastic bags.  The others were fine.  

I also found the darker colors to be, naturally enough, less soft as the dyes saturate the fibers more completely; however, this mostly changes once the finished project is washed and blocked to a consistent softness.  Colors were very fast with only a faint tint of green from the Grasshopper in the rinse water.  

These three skeins show colorways Silver Fox (L), Logwood (Center), and Antler (R).

At under $20 for a generously-sized skein (all of my mine were over 110 gr.), the price adds even more appeal to sampling this yarn.  That is not to say; however, that I would use it for every knitted or crocheted project.  

The very fuzz and singles softness that appeals to so many people may make it pill-prone, only time will tell.  The lush texture and light weight make it ideal for low-abrasion items like shawls, hats and scarves, but I might not make a pullover with TML until I see how it wears in other items.  I'd also love to try it for a dressy cardigan that did not get heavy wear, or for a light, but snuggly cowl.

Listed as "superwash", the company suggests machine washing in cold water and laying flat to dry, but I tend to hand wash fine knitted items, so I cannot comment on that aspect of this yarn. 

Overall I love looking at this yarn, touching this yarn, knitting with this yarn and wearing this yarn.  And at this price, Tosh Merino Light is a standout in the crowded field of artist palette yarns out there.  I definitely recommend giving it a try.

 

Living in Scarfland

I've been in a frenzy of scarf knitting lately, what with Christmas and work on my Lingonberry Loop (LL) pattern, not to mention my Thanksgiving scarf (still a WIP). I love scarves as a fashion accent, as an on-the-go project, and as a warm winter layer.  It's amazing how wearing one around our chilly house warms me up.

I pretty much always have one or two on the needles and over the years I've made plenty, some better than others, LOL.  

 

 

 

This week I finally bound off an aran-weight LL in Berroco Peruvia, and also sewed very light shell buttons on the very first version, knit in fingering weight Frog Tree Brushed Suri alpaca.

This yarn has a gorgeous halo that looks a little like mohair, but has more drape/ less spring, and a matte finish with less luster.  In the hand it is very soft, but reminds me more of wool than mohair.

 

I'd forgotten how much I loved knitting this, since I designed it in August 2010, and now I can't wait to wear it.  

When finalizing the pattern, I actually had two versions written up, one for fingering and one for chunky, both of which I liked.  

The deciding factor at the time was to go with chunky since it is much faster to knit, very warm for deep winter, and also more trend-current.  But boy do I love the light weight one!  

It's shorter and wider than the published version, allowing it to be worn many ways, but perhaps not a width that would be comfortable in a much heavier yarn.  It might feel too much like a blanket.  But then, just look at some of the ginormous (as my niece likes to say) scarves and cowls out there right now and who knows?

I like how the lacy pattern stitch is equally beautiful on both sides so you can wear it as a moebius with a half-twist before buttoning (as shown in top photo above), and how it allows buttons to go through along the sides for a shawl/ wrap style.

I'm considering publishing a second version of the LL pattern in the lighter weight.  Or will people adapt and modify the current one and it would be a waste of time?  Hmmm....

The grey one is still lacking buttons, so I'll save the FO shots for later.  Lots to think about.  

Thanksgiving Knitting & A Tasty Recipe

 

This year we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving, along with one of my sisters and her family, at my brother's home.

Although I love my family, hours spent in a bustling house full of people can be nerve-wracking, so an easy, on-the-go knitting project is a must for me to relax with while catching up with everyone after the dinner dishes are done.

I'm taking the project shown in the photo above, a simple scarf made from Fleece Artist's Nyoni wool/ silk/ kid mohair/ nylon fingering-weight yarn.   

Interestingly, the yarn feels both rough and smooth at the same time.  That is to say, it is smooth and lovely to knit with, but still has enough roughness and is not too soft.

The silk and mohair content add rich luster and grab the dye differently from the other fibers, and I love how it softens to a silky drape after blocking.  Yum!

And speaking of yum, my friend Mary is a super baker, and when I sampled her pecan praline-topped pumpkin pie, made from her mother's recipe, I knew she had another winner. 

I have my own favorite spicy custard cream pumpkin pie recipe, but I'm using Mary's idea for a pecan praline layer on top to make the pies for our Thanksgiving festivities.  If you like pecans or toffee, I think you will love it too.

If you are short on time this week (who isn't?) this topping could dress up a store-bought pie, and if you serve it from a glass pie dish, nobody will know you didn't make it if you don't tell them.

Serve it slightly warm with a little heavy whipping cream, or topped with vanilla ice cream for a swoon-worthy treat for your gathering.    

Pecan Praline Pie Topping Recipe

Makes enough topping to cover one pre-baked pie.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2/3 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecan pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400* F

In medium-sized bowl, stir together butter, brown sugar and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.  Stir in pecans, coat thoroughly. 

Spread topping evenly over your pre-baked pie, starting with the outer edges and working towards the center.  Be careful not to spread topping too close to the edge as it will melt and spread slightly during baking.

Place pie on a cookie sheet in the center of oven, bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Use caution when handling hot pie, praline topping is very hot and can easily burn bare skin.

On the Needles

Despite the warm weather, I've been working on ideas for the coming fall and winter cold-weather seasons.  Swatching lace stitches, cables and even a little color work has been a lot of fun, but I realized that despite the record-setting heat this year, summer is in it's final stages and it will be time to make and wear these things soon.

Last week some of the trees in our area were already showing signs of turning from green to gold, and today I saw both my first school bus of this new school year, and the first fallen maple leaf.   The high temperatures and lack of rain have stressed many plants and trees, so it will be interesting to see how this affects our usually spectacular show of autumn foliage color.

The project you see in the photo at the top of this post is a simple, airy lace knit in  fingering-weight, Suri alpaca yarn from Frog Tree.  The yarn is extremely soft and does shed a bit, but not more so than other fluffy yarns such as mohair.  It blocks very nicely, and the combination of alpaca's lovely drape and the halo from the long Suri fibers, gives the knitted fabric a light, warm coziness without bulk. 

Although this pattern is planned for fingering weight, I am knitting it on US #6/ 4mm needles to allow for some openness in the stitches, so it remains light and should be a fairly quick knit.  Hopefully this pattern will be done test knitting and available as a PDF in the next couple of weeks.  I'll have it up for download here and on my Ravelry page.

I've finished the Misti alpaca shawl and will try to get those pics up this week.  Otherwise, still tinkering with my cardigan shrug and casting on for more hats and a little pullover.  More details when I get some more time this week.

My crocheting friend Cheryl (Chercher on Ravelry) and I like to get together to stitch every week or so, when we can.  Yesterday as I was leaving her home, I stopped to admire her water garden, including these lilies just beginning to close in the late afternoon light.  

I think this is another good image to use in my inspiration for a project I have in mind, mentioned in this post.

 

The Koi look so serene gliding just below the surface of the water.  A beautiful way to end a pleasant time.

Adventures in Yarndom

Last weekend my husband and I took off through the Ohio countryside for a bucolic day of driving and yarn shop hopping around the Dayton area.  I was on a mission to find some specific things for project ideas I am working on. 

En route we stopped to enjoy a typically pastoral scene.

 

Although Dayton is one of Ohio's smaller cities, the surrounding communities do offer a few shops, and our first stop was at Arlene Graham's Fiberworks, specializing in spinning fiber and supplies.  I chose a small amount of a lustrous silk/ alpaca blend to experiment spinning with.   

After meeting up with my cousin for lunch at a favorite BBQ place (City Barbecue), we headed south to the town of Springboro for a visit to the Wooly Bully Yarn Company.  

 The shop's proprietor greeted us with a friendly smile and an open door.  

Although tiny compared to the shops in my area, it still held a nice assortment of yarn, and I found a bargain - fingering weight wool from Jojoland in a mouth-watering red the color of ripe cherries - 3 balls for less than $10.  I have a terrible time trying to photograph reds, but this yarn is a much deeper, blue-er color than this photo shows.  More on the wine side of red.

Our final destination before heading for home was the Yarn & Needle shop in quaint Centerville, an old village full of beautifully restored homes and shops.  I'd love to go back sometime to see more of the town.   

  

Yarn & Needle was the smallest store we visited, but had a beautiful selection of yarn, arranged by color, lots of knitted samples and vintage knitting memorabilia on display. 

I found some exceptionally soft fingering-weight beige Suri alpaca, by Frog Tree (shown in the first photo of this post), to swatch for a pattern I'm working on.  I considered a silk/ mohair yarn (one of my most favorite fiber blends!) but wanted to try something new, and I was drawn to the physical and visual texture of this yarn.  

All in all, a fun day in which I heroically stuck with my project-related shopping list and still managed to find some lovely things to work with my ideas. 

And knitting update:  I'm nearly finished with my Misti alpaca shawlette (on temporary hold), also nearly finished with my lace project in the pink fingering weight cotton (which I'll show more of soon), and have made some progress on my textured cardi-shrug pattern.

I'm also working on a new little handspun project which I will write more about in another post.  I really love to knit lace, but I'm balancing that out with other styles too.

This coming weekend I'll be teaching a Brandywine Falls wrap class at A Tangled Tale in Powell, so please join us if you are local!