Thursday, January 26, 2006

In Raptures over Silk Rhapsody...


I wish I had more. I wish I had a pound. I wish I had two pounds. In each color, just to roll around in. I love this stuff. What you cannot see on the screen is the incredible halo that surrounds this yarn, it positively glows! I have plans...scarves, shawls...wraps...sweet little lacy cardigan even...against your skin it feels more akin to angora. It is silk and kid mohair, a strand of each, and luscious! Iris, you are ruining me for other yarns! Between the Super, Ultra, Stripes, Regal Silk, now Silk Rhapsody...I'll go broke. And be so joyful about it!
Now about this Rogue potential disaster of Olympian proportions...yesterday as I told Persnickety Knitter I tried to swatch for the Olympics, and ended up having some kind of allergy attack, nose burning, eyes watering, throat all scratchy. Put down the yarn, symptoms resolved a bit. Picked up yarn, symptoms returned with a vengance. I have this big old cone of "something worsted from the warehouse" that I bought just for Rogue. I don't even know what it is, the cone label is gone; I just liked it, and it swatched to gauge, so I bought it. I thought at first it was because I was trying to knit on the bike, and my cadence was up, so maybe just too much going on? But no, it is indeed the yarn, or more likely the dust on the yarn, or the machine oil on the yarn. So, the decision was made, after careful thought, to skein and wash it all prior to use and hope that takes the allergic portion out of it. I have never had any reaction to any natural fiber (other than a mushroom once at an Asian place),and living where I do and leading the life I lead I've had more than enough opportunity to develop an allergy. I have two skeins made, and a second coming along (halfway) and need five total at 200 wraps each to get the 1650 I need for the sweater. Curse my prodigious curves! Damn genetics!! What I would not give some days to be a flat-chested size 2 with thermometer hips to match. Then I'd only need 1100 yards, if that.
Does anyone know how one can create non-alcoholic blue punch that will not turn the mouth of the consumer bright blue? I need blue punch. Carribean, summer sky, tidy-bowl blue. I think we're just going to have to buy one of everything blue on the shelf and sample them all. I have to have the little luau duckies swimming in the punch bowl for this shower. Just have to! I am getting excited about the whole shower thing. I also need to find cute games that will not humiliate the mother-to-be who is verrrry sensitive of late (hormones!), and prizes for said games. I sense a Yankee Candle trip coming. "Everyone" loves Yankee Candles!

3 comments:

Persnickety Knitter said...

OK, let me be the first to say, "Everyone does NOT love Yankee Candles." They can be very overpowering for people with sensitive noses. However, they do make for easy prizes, I agree.

And I like you idea for blue punch with swimming duckies -- too cute.

On to more important matters -- have you checked to see if you still have a reaction to the yarn even AFTER it has been washed?

Persnickety Knitter said...

Hey, is that Midwest Moonlight?

MelissaKnits said...

Yes, and yes. I had swatched itat the store before I bought it, then I brought it home and washed and blocked the swatch. I can sniff that and hold it without incident. I did not pick up the cone again till the other day. And it's funny you should mention that about Yankee because I can't stand most of them myself, they're too much. There's a very select few I can tolerate in my space. Meg can't be in the "flagship store" for more than five minutes without needing a benedryl. We usually feed her one before we leave home, then buy her a coffee as soon as we're in the door so she stays awake.

The house reeks now of lanolin and eucalan. The water turned black, literally, very gross. The result is beautiful, lofty worsted - the color is different, the texture altered dramatically, and it's much fatter now. Hot-hot water and eucalan to the rescue!