Meet the Yarn: Lucero

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

Getting a new yarn in the mail is always fun.  I didn’t mind a bit that it was coming “au natural”, or what is called griege goods in the textile/fashion industry.  

This is the latest yarn in the Anzula Luxury Fibers yarn catalog, Lucero.  You may have seen it making appearances on social media.  Always beautiful in dyed yarn, the Stellina adds such depth to the soft natural color that this yarn is just beautiful au natural.  You can imagine it in your favorite Anzula Luxury Fibers color.

I took a photo of the skein when it arrived:

then threw it on the swift and made cakes:

I knew what I wanted to do with it, so I went directly to a swatch of my project concept.  You can read about me blocking it here.  I didn’t like the gauge I got with a US size 6[4mm], so I started over on a US size 5[3.75mm].  If this makes you sigh, you haven’t knit with this yarn!  I am always happy to be knitting with lovely, soft, enjoyable yarn, so I really didn’t mind redoing my swatch at all.  I was actually disappointed that I couldn’t redo it right away, but I had other knitting to do.

Since I was enjoying this yarn, I decided to undo my swatch and wet block the yarn so I could reuse it.  I love it when it is all crimped up, and it looks kind of disappointing when it nearly smooth again.

Ever wonder why we do that wet blocking to yarn after we rip it?  It is so the crimps don’t inhibit the yarn when you are re-knitting it.  If I hadn’t wet and steam blocked it I wouldn’t have bothered to wet block the yarn before reusing it.  I hung it with a tiny bit of weight hanging from it, and I could steam it if I wanted to smooth it more.

In the meantime, I worked on my usual flat gauge swatches, just to get a feel for Lucero in a variety of stitch patterns.  I used a US size 3[3.25mm] needle.  There were really no surprises in this DK weight, 3-ply yarn, except maybe how much texture there was!  I decided to work my main project stitch pattern flat on US size 5[3.75mm] needles.  This eyelet pattern [you can get the instructions and chart to swatch here] works up nicely; I think I favor seed over stockinette on the larger needles though.  We’ll see when it is blocked.

So the numbers are in.

There isn’t a lot of change from unblocked to blocked.  When I picked up my blocked swatches, I nearly swooned with how soft my knitting felt!  I noted how the garter didn’t stretch out as it often does.  I also noted how smooth and lovely my Stockinette now looked on the swatch using larger needles.

I pulled out the in-the-round swatch I am working on.  There is the tiniest bit of difference in the unblocked and blocked feel of the swatches.  Cashmere does love a good bath!  I took my gauge on that unblocked swatch just out of curiosity.  At this point I only have Stockinette.  I used the same needles as I did for the flat swatches, using the magic loop.  

These are the numbers:  25 sts and 30.5 rows to 4” OR 6.25 sts and 7.625 rows to 1”.  If I get the same sort of shift as I did on the flat swatch, I think my blocked numbers would be 6 sts and 7.5 rows to 1”.  So if you have ever wondered why your gauge taken flat did not foretell your in-the-round gauge, there it is.

Have you been following my Meet the Yarn posts?  Do you ever look at the WPI and ply information?  Lucero is 16 WPI and a 3-ply yarn.  Remember, I am working with Au Natural, which means the yarn hasn’t been dyed.  I decided to do a WPI card for the yarn I blocked, which might be similar to after dyeing.  That yarn is 13 WPI.

I think we should be paying a little more attention to the yarn ply when we are looking at yarns and what we think they will do.  I am noticing a distinct difference between 2-ply and 3-ply yarns.  Look for more on that on my blog on January 31.

Look at my blog on January 24 (it always posts just after 5 pm PST) for a sneak peak at my Lucero project. 

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog:  http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
Twitter: @jillwolcottknit
Instagram: @jillwolcottknits
Pinterest: Jill Wolcott Knits
www.JillWolcottKnits.com

What's New!

As we pack for TNNA we want to make sure you know all the exciting new things we've made, just for you!

We have a new yarn, Lucero, a DK version of Lunaris. It's 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Sparkling Stellina and 250 yards of super soft, sparkly goodness!

Lucero in Dany

Lucero is in a kit of one skein each of Seaside and Au Natural with a shawl pattern called Earthshine by Hilary Smith Callis and will be available at the Winter 2018 TNNA.

Earthshine in Anzula Lucero, Seaside and Au Natural. Photo by Hilary Smith Callis

You asked and we are delivering: Smaller skeins of Squishy!

We now have Squishy available in 25 gram and 50 gram skeins.

Squishy in Teal, 50 g, Squishy in Aqua, 25 g

Squishy Skeinettes

A 5 pack of 67 yard skeins in perfectly coordinating shades. Each pack has 335 yards. They are perfect for colorwork, socks, and in combination with your favorite full sized fingering weight skeins to make amazing shawls.

Clockwise from top: Wuthering Hanks, Citizen Skein, Knitting in the Rain, Ocean's Anzula, Rebel Without a Stitch, Somewhere Over the Skeinbow, and Dr Strangeskein

We're pairing up with 4 other yarn companies (Lorna's Laces, Oink Pigments, Sweet Georgia, and Knit One Crochet Too) to do a mini yarn crawl at TNNA. Each of us will have a skeinette for you to pick up at TNNA along with a pattern for a gorgeous Shawl by Simone Kereit, of Owl Cat Designs. Start in rooms 509 & 510, we'll have a list of stops for you so you can collect them all!

Sneak peek at Vegas Nights!

We have 4 new colors, Sophia, Endora, Blanche and Dany which you can order in all of our yarns. You can also get them in a new Squishy Skeinette pack, called Knit at Night. We added a skein of Au Natural because we love how it makes the other colors pop. 

Squishy Skeinettes in Au Natural, Sophia, Endora, Blanche, and Dany

We have kits for Local Yarn Store Day on April 21st! They will include:

• Stitch markers from Stitch Sprouts
• Shawl pins from Lickin' Flames
• A Shawl pattern by Heather Zoppetti, Mirtillo
• And 5 skeinettes from us, in Charcoal, Aqua, Lottie, Gravity and our exclusive speckled colorway for Local Yarn Store Day, Nessie

We have also paired up with Slipped Stitch Studios to create a Mr Rogers themed Trolly colorway to pair with her Mr. Rogers project bags. Their Sock+ Bags are my favorite because they don't choke my wrist when I am knitting about the town.

And last but not least, we have a brand new yarn that we are debuting at TNNA. She doesn't even have a name yet. A DK yak and merino, in 50 gram skeins, 98 yards. Because the yak is a dark rich brown and the merino is cream, the yarn takes the colors super deeply and saturated, I just love it!

Yak & Merino in Chiva

Here's Cricket in Chiva for comparison. They're so different, and both so beautiful!

We can't wait to see you at TNNA in Las Vegas! We'll be in rooms 509 & 510. Cash and carry will be available. You can also see samples in every one of our yarns in every colorway. 

Meet the Yarn: Cloud

Jill Wolcott
passion.fashion.knits

Cloud
80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon
+/- 575 yd / 525 m
8.5-9 sts / in US #1

View fullsize

Cloud in Nimbus.

I have chosen Cloud to redo three projects in my pattern catalog.  Things change, and although I loved the original yarn, it is time to re-make them in something that lots of people use and/or want to use.  My samples are in Black Cherry and Blush. 

Cloud is another example of an Anzula yarn where a small percentage of cashmere makes a huge difference.  This lovely heavy lace weight sells for about $34-36 skein.  The yardage is good at 575 yards (525m).  It is a simple 2-ply of 80% super wash Merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon in the unique tonal coloration we know and love in Anzula Luxury Fibers.  Cloud almost reminds me of a Suri alpaca.  It has a halo, but not a hard-to frog one (trust me, I always do some ripping!).  Want to know more about Cashmere?  Check out this blog where I took a look at Cricket.  This is a yarn that looks different after a wet blocking! 

View fullsize

I did my first swatch on US size 3(3.25mm) needles, thinking of it in terms of making a garment, and it does a nice garter and stockinette, a lovely seed stitch, and a slightly loose rib.  I then swatched in in a seed stitch, purl cable, and 3x3 rib for Snow Farm.  I love Snow Farm and its sister pattern Roundhill for their slightly girly look, in fairly tailored yarn and stitch patterns.  The texture shines in this smooth yarn with the tiniest halo to it.  I also worked it up in Remarkables.  This tiered shawlette is a favorite for mine.  Again, a somewhat flamboyant piece that remains slightly tailored in Cloud.  This is a look I really like. 

I’ve been thinking about Cloud for a while, and I’ve been looking at projects on Ravelry (1543) as well as the stashes (1919).  Cloud has been used to make everything from complex lace to rib socks.  From baby hats to color work.  It has been made into garments, hand accessories, and lots of shawls.  There are quilts of many colors, stranded color work, cables, stockinette, lots of laces and eyelets, garter stitch, brioche.  There are many familiar patterns, and others I’m glad I took the time to look at.  Lots of Perfect Fit Socks.  I loved this pair with red toes and heels.  There was double knitting, and I loved this pullover.  There are also lots and lots of Pioneer Cuffs, and this project for a man’s sweater.  One of my other favorite garments is this. There are adorable baby sweaters.  I saw a few of A Hint of Summer, but I loved this one in particular.  A few knitters have mentioned that the yarn can be a little slippery.

View fullsize

I wanted to challenge myself by making a man’s scarf in two colors with the leftovers of Blush & Black Cherry .  It is hard for me to design masculine; I’ve been observing what scarves men are wearing when I’m out walking.  I’m using a very simple stitch pattern, and I’m working on size US size 2 (2.75mm) using two longer Brittany dpns because I’m looking for some efficiency. 

View fullsize

My unblocked gauge numbers in this stitch pattern are  31 stitches and 46 rows to 4” OR 7.75 sts and 11.5 rows to 1”.  After wet and steam blocking in my stitch pattern the gauge changes to 45 stitches and 43 rows to 4” OR 11.25 sts and 10.75 rows to 1”.  Take a look at my blog on January 17 for the final outcome and the pattern. 

View fullsize

Let’s take a look at my gauge numbers from my exploration swatches to help you plan your Cloud projects!  I used a US size 3(3.25mm)

View fullsize

View fullsize

I like to know where I’m going to end up, which can be quite different from what I see when I’m knitting. isn’t always what the end result will be.  Remember this to help you when choosing stitch patterns:

• More stitches per inch when blocked = narrower piece [garter, seed, 1x1 rib above]
• Fewer stitches per inch when blocked = wider piece
• More rows per inch when blocked = shorter piece [1x1 rib above]
• Fewer rows per inch when blocked = longer piece [garter, seed above]
• There was no change in the gauge in Stockinette, although my Stockinette always looks smoother and more even after blocking.

Keep up on all things Jill Wolcott:
Contact: jill@jillwolcottknits.com
Blog:  http://www.jillwolcottknits.com/category/blog/
Twitter: @jillwolcottknit
Instagram: @jillwolcottknits
Pinterest: Jill Wolcott Knits
www.JillWolcottKnits.com