I have fallen in love with a new yarn, a rustic looking raw silk with a tiny bit of viscose (90-10% split), Ella Rae’s Shibu.
I have been trying to find the right project for this lovely yarn, a pattern that would allow me to knit up something that would show its character and depth. I wanted something very feminine yet not too frou-frou.
And then I saw Tangled Yoke and thought, this is it! There was a small problem, the gauge was not quite right but I really did not want to use any other yarn, Shibu was it and I was going to make it work. This lovely raw silk was going to be my yarn for Tangled Yoke.
So, I swatched, swatched and swatched, with English Rose.
Shibu calls for a needle size of US 7, so I kept dropping the needle size first to 6 then to 5 and then to some odd in-between sizes. Finally, I got my gauge.
My swatched looked really nice too, raw, not wooly but still substantial and very Voguesque (can I say that?), with viscose shining through my stitches. 
Then I cast on, proud and happy, having made it work. I cast on 250+ stitches and knitted and knitted. Fighting the yarn, which was trying to tell me “I am not meant for this pattern.” I got into the pattern by at least 70 or so rows and I knew I was defeated. Shibu hated to be forced into a gauge that it was not meant to be and wanted a different pattern. So I admitted defeat and my folly and frogged.
I still love Shibu and I am looking for the right pattern for this stunning yarn. I still want to knit Tangled Yoke, a project just for me, and I am looking for the right yarn.
It is a beautiful day in Seattle, crisp, sunny and smells like Fall. I love Fall, my favorite season of all – makes me want to knit knit knit. I think it is the perfect day for a bowl of soup and some careful stash perusal.
Hope you are well and knitting with a smile.