You know what? I’m mad about yarn!
I love all yarns. I love the consistency of commercial dyers and the personality of indie dyers. I love subtle colorways and bold colors. I love natural fibers but I also enjoy good quality synthetic yarns. Most yarns inspire me to knit and they are the trigger to all the pattern ideas that lives in my head.
I thought I could make a little room on my blog to talk about all those lovely yarns I knit with. Sunday morning is my favorite knitting time, so the name came naturally. I have nothing in mind and I can enjoy yarn and tea for as long as I want. If it’s sunny or if the air smells like rain, the moment is magic.
For my first yarn review, I decided to talk about Julie Asselin (http://www.julie-asselin.com/)’s Piccolo yarn. Julie Asselin is an indie yarn dyer and she’s my fellow Quebecer, so she’s obviously a wonderful person! It’s the first time I’m working with her yarns but I have the habit of petting all I see from her at my LYS. I’m very tempted to try them all, especially her decadent cachemire or silk blends. I decided to try Piccolo first because I found it in the Opera colorway and it was just perfect. Opera is a muted pink with hints of purple and peach. I must admit, all her coloways are beautiful. The colors are pure with subtle shades and some are lightly variegated in a harmonious way.
Piccolo is a sturdy sock weight yarn. It’s 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon and it comes in generous 420 yards skeins. It’s a good quality yarn and I have the feeling it will stay beautiful after years of wearing and many machine washes (I recommend using the soft cycle for all hand knits). It is fairly priced at $25 CAD which is the price I expect to pay for a good quality hand dyed sock yarn. At first I had the feeling it was a little stiff while knitting. Then I blocked it and it gained all its splendor. The resulting fabric is soft with just the perfect amount of stretch.
It’s obviously a perfect yarn for sock knitting and it’s not itchy at all so I would use it for any accessories or garments that are worn near the skin. I can imagine a beautiful light cardigan made with this yarn. I choose to make a shawl with my skein (it’s getting obvious how much I love to make shawls). I have the feeling it will become one of my favorites.
It’s impossible to take a picture without a having a paw or a nose in the way!