Effie

January 30, 2010























































This sweater combined two loves of mine, Kim Hargreaves and Kidsilk Haze. Effie is great, with just a dash of cheeky chic with those little frills. I'm nuts about Kidsilk Haze, that glamorous silk and mohair confection from Rowan. Knitters either love it or hate it and I am one of the love-its. But I do try to knit responsibly by making sure I am sober and near excellent light, essentials if you don't want to frog the next day. (I started this on a vacation to Australia, sobriety was often an issue).

There are drawbacks to this beautiful yarn. Frogging KSH is hellish, and heaven help you if you drop a stitch. The little hairs of the mo somehow super glue themselves together with bionic strength and just don't like to be separated. It's like knitting with cobwebs and frogging a tangled string of Christmas lights, but it creates a glossy silky and romantic fabric that's worth the extra attention. Trust me. Witness Effie.

For more KSH love, read the comments on the KSH page in Ravelry, this yarn has numerous fans. The following comment from Genuine says it all!

Ah, the bliss that is mine, the happiness! The honor that belongs to me of sharing the first words on the hallowed subject of…Kidsilk!
I am not knitting a mere mortal scarf, which dost become wrinkled and torn and passeth away, but a cloud, a vertible cloud which floats at my fingertips. Angels wings cannot be softer or lighter than this……..this utter bliss that is Kidsilk. I knit mindlessly, oblivious to anything other than the thin strand of mohair and silk that flows through my fingers.
I am knitting with Kidsilk Night, in fact, which glitters with the soft light of the sun as it bestows its first delicate rays on the virgin leaves of a slowly opening white rose. Mine eyes bedazzle! I learned to knit young!
My former estate of a humble mortal, a knitter which knew not the bliss of the Haze, has passed away. All things have become new, ever since I swapped for that single skein of Moonlight 608, and I tore open the dirty, banged up Priority envelope it came in. I could not restrain my passion and promptly took it into my arms and…
began to knit.
Suffice to say, you have not knit, until you have knitted with Kidsilk Haze. Better to have knitted with Kidsilk Haze and suffered an allergic reaction to the mohair, than to have never knitted with Kidsilk at all. My only sorrow is this: that knitters who came before me never knew the gospel of Kidsilk.
I can only pray for their souls.

Now that we understand the KSH love, back to the sweater itself with just one mod: I changed the placket to a garter stitch to simplify, and if I were to knit it again, I might not bother with the fussy hem border. The little picot edge does not seem to show well and instead looks a little messy if you look too closely.

The particulars: Effie by Kim Hargreaves from Precious, 4.5 skeins Kidsilk Haze in Anthracite, color #639, size xs. Bamboo needles sizes 2, 2/3 and 3. I love using bamboo needles with KSH.
Raveled.

Lots of knitting in the wings here at Knitionary HQ: TWO Hanne Falkenberg kits that I might tackle in the near future: Plise in a limey green and Ballerina in black/tan. Also thinking about doing Baby Cables and Big Ones Too, I even have the yarn for it! Pickadilly is also on the needles now, and may even finish Salina, both in Felted Tweed. Plus an Easter sweater for my granddaughter. The list is endless!

You Might Also Like

3 Comments

  1. Kristen: Love Effie. It looks beautiful on you. As a "fuller figure" gal the ruffles would not work for me. Oh well. Maybe in the next life. BTW, I can totally relate to your comments on knitting while sober. I must have frogged 6 times on the project I was working on in SF, only to learn there was a mistake in the printed pattern. I learned that when I called the designer in Tennesee when I got home. Who knew? I could have had another glass of cabernet!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's lovely on you! I bet it's a confection to wear :) Enjoy!

    I love the kits you have chosen. I keep thinking about maybe trying Diva.

    I also wanted to thank you for what you said. The comments have been comforting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Kristen! It's your cousin, here! Auntie Ruth just forwarded me your blog, she knows I'm a kindle junkie! LOL...Anyway, I was reading and had to comment on the beauty of this sweater! I'm trying to learn to knit using looms. Once I've mastered that, I hope to try it with needles. Wish me luck. Off to read more of your blog!

    ReplyDelete

You make my day when you make a comment!

Labels

afghan Alana Dakos ally pally ambassador Amy Herzog Ankestrick Arte Italica baby Baby Cocktails bakelite baking berry picking Best Friday of the Month best of Ravelry Big Sur blue transferware book review books boutique brook cables California candy child children children's activities Christmas Christmas crafts Christmas knitting cleaning collections cookie cutters cookies cooking craft Crafts crochet cross-stitch day trip decluttering decorating designer spotlight discount diy dog dolls Easter eau de vie Elizabeth Bradley Elizabeth Zimmerman embroidery entertaining Facebook fall fall decorating fall garden family featured first car fit flower arranging flowers free pattern Friday night party group friends funny Fur garden gardening Giants Gifted Hostess give-away giveaway gluten free gourmet group Halloween herbs holiday home how to set up a party group jewelry Kaffe Fassett KAL Kim Hargreaves kitting Knit Picks knitting laundry Le Jacquard Francais Little French Knits Los Altos lunch Mailbu Making Things Marie Wallin Martin Storey menu minimalism money talk mosaic movies my house my patterns my town nails needlepoint needles October challenge Octoberfest ollalie organizing original design outdoor seating owl party prep pear peg dolls pies pomegranates poncho preview quilting recipe recycling redwork review roses Rowan San Francisco Sarah Hatton sewing shawl shopping shower social media softie spring spring garden stash Stitches West summer summer garden summer knitting Sunday Morning Swans Island table setting test test knit Thanksgiving Three Irish Girls TNNA tomatoes top 10 list toys travel tutorial twinning ufo Uncommon Threads vacation Valentine vegetable garden videos wedding winter garden wip Woolfolk yarn yarn for sale Ysolda