Twice as Nice

The Yarn Girls are rarely without something on their needles...even if their needles are left at home.  Sometimes we get to make a big deal over the final results, and other times they just quietly display their handiwork without fanfare.

On rare occasions, the true story behind a sample is volunteered by someone who wasn't the maker!  Today is one of those occasions.

Julia didn't even giggle as she kindly requested Jacqueline submit her saga to the TYS blog, and yet the details had to be dragged out of her, piece by piece.

Let us begin with how fabulous her Foxy Duo cowl from Prism looks!

Like we said: Fabulous, no?

The Foxy Duo comes in a kit, available in several different colours.  It consists of Stuff and Plume, two wildly different and totally tactile yarns by Prism.

Plume is an incredible hand dyed fibre that when knit, can mimic the look and feel of fur - it's soooo soft.  Granted, you might not run into many soft green furry animals, but there are other, more natural colours to choose from if you so desire.

Prism Yarns Plume in Mink

Stuff is kind of what it says it is: a skein made up of all kinds of stuff!  Each skein consists of many different textures of strands (cotton, rayon, nylon, and mohair) that have been hand dyed and gauge coordinated. Some of the yarns are single, some double and some three strands to maintain consistent gauge.  They are tied together by hand, end to end in varying lengths, so that one yarn changes to another as you knit.  Jacqueline notes that the knots are no big deal, just knit them in and "leave them hanging out there" - the ends are totally camoflaged by all the texture.   If you're looking for an adventure in your knitting or crocheting, check out this Stuff!

Prism Yarns Stuff

So. We're talking about a kit, here.  An accomplished knitter and crocheter, Jacqueline skimmed the instructions and saw "10 needle", and got straight to work.  In less than three hours she was weaving in the ends and calling it done.  However, this cowl was not in its petite, shoulder-grazing size...

Somewhat shocked at this result, she re-read the pattern, and determined that the fault lay with the 10mm needles she had unintentionally picked up.  It should have been US #10 aka 6.0mm needles!  Too polite a lady, Jacqueline has declined to repeat what she said at that moment.

More determined than ever, she undid the whole thing, and knit it again (on the right needles!) in a quick three hours. (Note: she's using our new Boye Artisan Tools Square circular needles!)

Despite the twice-over effort, it's a lot of fun working with so many different yarns at once. In fact, Jacqueline was so inspired, she's even thinking about combining two kits and making a mini skirt to go with the new thigh-high boots she bought recently.... ;)

Thanks for sharing, Jacqueline - we know you did it that way just so your students could benefit!  

Follow more of Jacqueline's adventures on Ravelry ("knitswiss") and on her blog, Passion to Create.