new scarf yarn

Whilst shopping for the black boucle cuff (now Mrs. Beetons) yarn, I found this Debbie Bliss astrakhan cashmerino yarn. It's wonderful! The shop had it knitted up into a scarf with frilled ends (complimentary pattern; thanks, Stix!) and it only takes two balls of this.

The yarn feels like silk but seems to be grippy on the needles, good for this somewhat inexperienced knitter. The frilled ends read nicely in this yarn, and last night I started the Mrs. Beetons in green, which also use a frilly effect. Cast on 108, end up with 36 over twelve rows. Again, a nice teaching project--Beetons cuffs--before executing the same effect in a larger project with a single yarn, all the easier to see mistakes with--Debbie Bliss blue bubbly scarf.

A note about the start of the Mrs. Beetons: I'm new to a lot of techniques, and had never knitted using double-pointed needles, or knitting-in-the-round, so in preparation for the Beetons project, I bought a size 8, 24" circular needle. That's what I started on last night. First, I cast on my 108 stitches on a long #8 needle, then knitted the first row onto the circular needle. The circular needle worked really well for the rows in which the 108 stitches were worked, but as soon as I started k2tog and ssk, it got harder. That's when I knitted the next decreasing row onto three dpns. (I used four on the next round.)

To make a long story...longer (kee hee), I found stepping down from regular #8 to circular to dpn really worthwhile. It helped a novice get her chops, if you know what I mean, especially since I was self-teaching (ha!). I'd recommend using the circular needle before the dpns. The stitches are nice and even and the transfer is easier once the piece becomes more substantial.