I just love Classic Elite’s Avalanche. There are some drawbacks to it. I suspect that it won’t hold up over time. The nylon makes it easy to snag. The advantages though make it worth it. It’s warm, lightweight and soft. Since it’s a chainette yarn, it’s stretchy. I’ve had some snags work back into the sweater, just by stretching the area a bit. There’s no drape, so this feels more like fabric. And I like the colors. They have a watercolor effect to them. And since this is discontinued, prices are good.
I’m on my third Better Than Basic Pullover, all made from Avalanche. They seem perfect for this climate. I’m not a fan of drop shouldered sweaters, so it’s not the most flattering thing I can wear. I just keep one by the door and put it on to take the dogs outside. It’s a comfortable choice for road trips too. If I didn’t have to pay property taxes, I’d probably be tempted to do a fourth.
I am close to finishing the Twice Reversible Ribbed Poncho. I did this in Rowan Hemp Tweed. I think it looks okay and I like the color. I wish I were more enthusiastic about the yarn. It does soften up but it’s not that pleasant to knit with. I find it interesting that people will call a wool yarn scratchy, yet they don’t seem to call hemp or linen scratchy. I have some Classic Elite Telluride, which is linen/alpaca. It seems much softer than this wool/hemp blend. In general, I prefer Classic Elite yarns to Rowan. I haven’t used either brand all that much. The Hemp Tweed was on sale at a great price and I’ve enjoyed trying something different. It’s just nice to get back to Avalanche again.
I have a couple of projects coming up for Lon. He wants a scarf out of buffalo fiber. I’ve ordered that. I already don’t care for the yarn. I ordered buffalo fiber to spin and just hated working with it. The yarn is half buffalo, half tussah silk. I think it took about six hours to ball up the skein, due to it tangling. I’ll have to use it double, which makes this an expensive scarf. He has a birthday coming up in June, so this is his present. And I’m going to make him a second watch cap, out of alpaca. He sometimes misplaces the black one I made, so I’d like for him to have a backup. I have two projects lined up for me. I think I’ll order a bit more of the Telluride and make a Go-To Cardigan. I was going to make the Easy Folded Poncho, but it’s too lightweight. I have the mohair for another Modern Wrapper. Just need to buy the second yarn for that. I have been good about buying for specific projects and I have been working them up as I go. I’ve also been getting rid of my old stash, as I seem to get a reaction from it. Need to finish going through it and let most of it go.
Here’s the sweater trio. The colors, left to right are Mountain, Sea, and Sky:
