Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

I left TNNA in late January with a lot of skeins of Anzula Luxury Yarns.  I had a list of what I needed for my 2018 yarn reviews, so I chose colors and checked things off my list.  Somehow I also convinced myself that I needed an extra Squishy.  I loved it so much in Endora (for the review) and 1 Red Shoe, that I took both, knowing I would make something for myself from the 1 Red Shoe.

If you haven’t tried Squishy, I would move this one to the top of your list.  It is the yarn featured in the Anzula kits to be offered to local yarn stores for Local Yarn Store day.  This is clearly a Ravelry favorite with over 3300 projects and yarn in over 3200 stashes.  I got curious about that stash number, so I looked more closely (my numbers are approximate).

• 6 pages of Traded/sold/gifted
• 12 pages of All used up
• 107 pages of In stash (not for sale)
• 3 pages Will trade or sell

I began my Squishy research without my usual exploration swatch because I was creating a project for an Anzula kit and time was short. I dove right into the swatch for that project, which was based on a shawlette I’d done for myself in a plant-fiber yarn. I did a swatch, the knitter did a swatch, and that project got going.  The shawlette project is done on US size 3 (3.25mm) for the 2x2 Rib Collar and the Drape (body) is done using a US size 8 (4.5mm).  

Then I went back to my exploration swatching.  For that I used US size 3 (3.25mm) needles.  After washing, drying, and steam blocking my exploration swatch, I decided to weight the garter section for 24 hours because the garter was quite stretched out after washing and drying.  I was able to use the steam blocking to get it back into shape, but then I worried about whether it would stretch out again.  So let's look at the numbers.

By the time I got to my exploration swatch the yarn I used had been wet blocked, steamed, then frogged. Then the yarn was wet blocked and steamed.  I knit, and frogged again, and did my swatch without more blocking.  The blocked swatch from the yarn that took all that use is just as lovely as the one knitted from the fresh skein.  The photo of the unblocked swatch shows it was not in perfect shape when I knitted it.  Frogging has so many learning opportunities and I love knowing that a yarn stands up well to a little exploration.  I do not hesitate to reuse yarn!

Squishy is an affordable luxury yarn.  It will stand up to use, and makes yummy projects.  It is a joy to knit and works in seemingly anything.

Ravelry Projects

There are so many!  I got through about one third of the pages.  This is a nice representation of what you can do with Squishy—which is almost anything.

1. Wonder Woman Wrap (3 colors) 
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/FishWithSticks/wonder-woman-wrap-knit
2. Verdon (color block shawl/4 skeins)
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/aladner/verdon
3. Celtic Climbers (sock/1 skein)
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/mnelder/celtic-climbers
4. Ravello (pullover/4 skeins)
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sockfiend/ravello
5. Twisted Tracks (pullover/4 skeins)  
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/KayGee64/twisted-tracks
6. Breathing Space (pullover/1 skein/also uses Cloud)
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Sit-N-Spin/breathing-space
7. Close to You (1 skein)  
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/mishmash/close-to-you
8. Vintage Prim hat  
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/emilyconnell/vintage-prim
9. Misty Lily (baby set/1 skein)  
   https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Laephi/misty-lily
10. Loasa Latieritia (sock/1 skein) 
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/dwolverton/loasa-lateritia-sock
11. Shetland Shorty (cropped /1.25 skeins)
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/sharkfoot00/shetland-shorty
12. Netty Cowl (3 skeins) 
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Ozette/netty-cowl
13. Banyan Tree Scarf (1 skein) 
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/marthajane73/banyan-tree-practice-dishcloth-afghan-square-block-4
14. Copilot Cowl (the kitty!/1 skein)
    https://www.ravelry.com/projects/kittyknitty/copilot

Shops where Savoie will be available for Local Yarn Store Day:

Ewe Knit It
eweknitit@midco.net
South Dakota

Hook a Frog
hookafrog@gmail.com
Alabama

Knitique
knitique@gmail.com
California

Personal Threads
Joe@personalthreads.com
Nebraska

Tinsmith's Wife
tinsmithwife@hctc.net
Texas

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