Elann samples

I got this month's Elann samples knit up last night. Well, all but one, which is a laceweight/very fine fingering that is too hard to deal with on metal needles and I was too lazy to get up and dig out some birch ones.

They're all kind of odd, in one way or another, this month. This first one is sorta-kinda-semi-neat, sorta--it's Needful Yarns Disco which is 70% nylon, 20% mohair, 10% acrylic. It has a bit of a mohair haze and a lot of shine. Full bag (10-balls) for $15--pretty good deal. I can't really see making anything practical out of it, but it would make a nice shiny evening something or other. It's nice and soft and although a bit slippery, it did fine on aluminum needles.

This is Limited Edition Lana Pura--100% Tasmanian Wool, DK weight, $2.98 a ball, 59! colors
. I think it's a really nice, basic wool, and with that many colors you could really go to town with color knitting. For $177 you could get one of each color and be all set for months, if not years. It makes a really soft fabric--sort of comforting--I think you could wear it next to the skin. It'll be available October 20.

This is Limited Edition Persian Kid. As you can see, it's a mohair boucle, and I cannot imagine making an entire garment out of it--all those little loops are constantly getting caught on your needle tips, and heaven help you if you drop a stitch or have to rip out. It was really hard to do a loose cast on and bind off. It suggests a US 10.5 needle (6.5mm); I used a US 6 (4.0 mm) and got a fairly holey fabric. (Although now that I think of it, if you knit it with 10.5 needles, it probably wouldn't catch on the tips so much--the loops aren't that big.) That being said, it does knit up nicely and it would be a fun trim. 70% kid mohair, 20% acrylic, 10% wool, $2.98 a ball. Not available until October 27.

The one I haven't knit up yet is another wool, Limited Edition Tremolo. It's supposed to have "tonal color twists," but the sample is just plain ol' ivory. It's 100% extrafine superwash wool. Suggested needle size US 2-1/2 (is there such a thing?) or 3.0 mm. The tonal color twists look in the pictures to be made up of two or three strands of different shades, and in casting on the yarn acted like it wanted to untwist, like some of the cotton yarns I swatched this past summer. If I get it knit up, I'll post a picture.