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Knit Picks “Swish” and “Wool of the Andes” In New Tonal Colors!

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So I tried out one of Knit Picks newest yarns, Swish Tonals in the Deep Water’s colorway. It’s a Superwash Merino, worsted weight so I invented myself a project. See, I had a problem. Had a water bottle that I loved, with no sweat cover. Too small to fit in the cup holder of my bike (why yes, my motorcycle has a cup holder, doesn’t yours?) and it would fall out occasionally, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and knit myself a water bottle cozy. Not too hard, eh? Well, let’s just say it’s not so much a cozy as it is a scrunchie, and it may turn into a leg warmer if I get a chance to knit another one to match.

Anyway, on to the Swish. This yarn knitted up beautifully, no splits, unbelievably soft and luscious, and the colors are gorgeous. Now I haven’t washed it yet, and it would be awesome if it shrank a whole bunch, but like I said it’s Superwash, so that’s not likely.

15 different colors with 7 different tones in each skein, it’s lovely. And being a worsted weight, knits up quick. The ribbing I did really stood out, and the stockinette was soft and even, unlike a lot of the nicer high end yarns I’ve tried. This one’s a keeper!

I also scored a skein of Wool of the Andes in the Nevermore Tonal colorway.  Again, 15 different colors with 7 different tones in each of the hand painted colors, worsted weight and felts beautifully. For this yarn I chose a pair of Croc Socks from Tahki Stacy Charles. The pattern is over at Knitting Warehouse. I haven’t gotten very far on these yet, except to say that I’m using a bit bigger needle, and making them a bit bigger so I can felt them down a bit.

More on this later….

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Comments

  2. Would you have 1 skein of this yarn that I could purchase from you to finish a project??? The place I bought them from says it is discontinued…..
    thanks
    Paula

Have you read?

A Blanket Knitting Pattern Where Yarn Selection is Everything

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]