Kookaburra Wins, Hands Down!

Kookburra Wool Wash is the latest product to fall victim to my use and abuse list. I like to try these things myself, without reading all the hype, so I can realistically make up my own mind about the products.

Kookaburra did not disappoint! I really liked the delicate smell, and how soft and fluffy the newly spun yarn was directly out of it’s wash. My hands were soft, and didn’t feel stripped, as if I’d washed with soap. I was concerned a bit with how dirty the water was. Did it remove too much of the good stuff? After hanging and drying my skeins, I went back for an initial “feel”. They were so soft, just begging me to start knitting.

Ok, so I like the stuff, I’ve decided, now to read the “hype”.

I was very very pleasantly surprised to read that this formulation is all plant based, biodegradeable, and natural. I’m a big fan of natural. I love natural. So this means I love Kookaburra right? Right! After reading about the formulations and ingredients of this product, my initial concern was unfounded.

All of the components of Kookaburra Wash are biodegradable. Kookaburra Wash contains no enzymes, phosphates, peroxide, or alkali and is Colorfast and is safe for septic systems. Kookaburra products contain nut oils, lanolin, and Austrailian tea tree oil.

This wonderful poduct is the baby of ABL Development Co, Inc out of Colorado. You can read more here.

http://www.kookaburraco.com/index.php?cid=79

Mmmmmm smells so good, one of these days this here internet will come with smell!

Progress charts: Mossi Cardi…75% done
Helsinki Scarf…. just barely started
Roving Spun for Helsinki…60% done

Next Pattern:

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?