Sunday 19 August 2007

Oh, Habu...

I just couldn't help myself, once I had my hands on the little bundles of gorgeousness, I had to play with them straight away. I'm not normally a fan of mohair; I can't stand all the fluff. But this? Oh my lord, I had to reread the ball band! Is that what silk and mohair feels like? Oh wow, just SOFT... The 100% silk was a completely unexpected texture: almost crispy, without the slipperiness or the sheen that I normally associate with silk.

I started with two strands of the silk/mohair, and got a beautifully soft, but saturated colour. Then I added a strand of silk. The colours blend seamlessly, but with a subtle distinction where I changed yarn combination. Next I removed one of the silk/mohair strands, and got almost a heathered effect. What to try next? I added another strand of crispy silk, and finally I removed all mohair to leave just two silk strands, and then a single silk strand. The texture moves from being luxuriously soft and supple to being quite textural (almost coarse) as the colour shifts from light pink to soft brown. This little swatch has been following me from room to room over the last couple of days. I can't stop looking at it, touching it, and marvelling at the colour/texture combinations.

What will it look and feel like when I block it? I haven't even dared to try the Shibori yet. I bought quite a lot of this yarn, so I have some choices about what to make. All the designs I've seen made of Habu have been kind of zen and spare, and I think that's also what I want to do. An intricate lacey pattern would be a waste, I think. So, whilst I look for a design, I think I'll do another swatch and felt it Shibori-style.

3 comments:

lekkercraft said...

That is probably the nicest-looking swatch I've ever seen. It would be so cool to expand this idea into a whole garment. Nice inspiration!

PlazaJen said...

ooooooooooooooooooooh. SO so pretty.

Can't wait to see one shibori-d. And I have a dreadful love-hate relationship with mohair, as in, I look at it and think, OH! So fluffy and purty! and then I try to knit with it and I want to set it on fire.
Perhaps you have discovered a mohair I could tolerate beyond the "crush" stage!

Unknown said...

Oh my! that's so pretty!! I love the color gradation of the kusaki and tsumugi silk...very luscious..hmm I think a simple shawl with both of these yarn would be very nice :)