Monday, April 14, 2008

Swatching Sunday: Kathmandu Aran

As promised, here is my Sunday Swatch, a day late. I knit the big swatch yesterday, but did the little one today at work.

I went to the Knitting Nest on Saturday for their Lucky 7 Sale. A roll of the dice determined my discount. I only got the minimum 15% off (not that I'm complaining about getting 15% off.)

I exercised some restraint. I bought some dpns, a lavender sachet, some roving and a single ball of Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran for swatching. It was my chance to do the "GKY" thing (get to know your yarn) they talk about in No Sheep for You.

Kathmandu is a tweedy 85% merino/10% silk/5% cashmere blend in two plies. It's a bit uneven, rustic and fuzzy. There is a little bit of vegetable matter in it. While it's not too weak, I was able to pull it apart with a little force. I bought color 158 "Petrol."

Here are the gauges I got on the long swatch:

US size 7 = about 8 stitches and 12 rows per 2 inches
US size 6 = about 8.5 stitches and 13 rows per 2 inches
US size 5 = about 9 stitches and 13.5 rows per 2 inches
US size 4 = about 9.5 stitches per 2 inches

This swatch was knit using aluminum needles from my Boye Needlemaster. This swatch is unblocked and unwashed.

The little swatch was knit with US size 5 with the same needles in the same needle. I intend to wash and block it as soon as I can track down some Soak or some Eucalan

Expect more swatches to come. I want to see how this stuff looks in knits and purls and cables.

1 comment:

SpinalCat said...

That yarn looks really pretty on the website with all the colors. How bad is the vm and fuzziness compared to something like Noro? Is it as worth putting up with the hassle as Noro?