WIPS and chains

Sometimes, there seems to be no other alternative.  The WIPs become our Jacob Marley burden.  So finish them we must.  But honestly, that's just a  disingenuous way of saying, "I'm stymied on my other projects, my wrist hurts, and I'm going to do something simple until the impasse breaks."

Behold!  My only stalled WIP:

It is a Plymouth lace scarf pattern, DK alpaca.  Note the lack of markers.  The scarf was started, and stalled, in pre-Cassie days.  The markers are queued up and ready to leap onto the needle.  I have not been happy with Plymouth baby alpaca yarn.  I made the cranberry lace scarf for my librarian/educational coordinator.  THREE knots per ball.  Tell me who loves weaving in a gajillion extra ends, and I'll send 'em the final ball.  (Just kidding...it goes back to Patternworks with a whiney, but accurate note.)  The pattern is mindless, the results quite attractive, don't you think?

On other fronts, my husband has finally done it to me.  Before you leap to the conjecture that this has become a (I almost wrote p-o-r-n-b-l-o-g and decided I didn't want all those google hits) different sort of blog, let me rush to assure you that we are still on the subject of knitting.  He asked for a cotton sweater.  I'm in pain.  I don't like cotton.   It is not resilient.  It is not fun.  It doesn't feel good.  So I'm asking, nay, begging, the blog community to help me on this one.  What can I use for a lighter weight sweater, that has some elasticity, contains no silk, that would make a man happy? 

Comments

[Annie]

Um, I think you know my answer for this one~ Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. Here's a link: http://www.yarn.com/yarns-knitting/cottonfleece.html

I can't stand knitting with cotton yarn either, and this was wonderful to knit with~ very soft and wool-like. Lots of "man" colors too. :)

[Bea]

Rowan All Seasons Cotton? There's some going on ebay for a pretty good price ($25/bag) in charcoal grey ("Slick") that I've been considering scooping up....

[Cassie]

I don't have Cotton Fleece experience, but I've heard really good things about it, even though its a good percentage of the c-word.

What's pre-Cassie days about the scarf? Lack of stitch markers? Alpaca? The pattern looks great.

[Maria]

How about Cascade Sierra? It's also a cotton/wool blend and there are a ton of colors to choose from. It's really lovely yarn and won't hurt your hands to knit. I have the same problem with cotton and have given away most of what I had for that reason.
Maria

[Norma]

Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece -- another vote here. It's wonderful to work with, and gives a nice resilient fabric and that is still lightweight and cool. Another good one is Rowan Calmer. That has a lycra (or something) content to it and knits up on 8 needles, even though it looks thinner than that -- because of the stretch, it's like worsted weight. I made a top with it last summer, and wore it tons of times, loved it every time. It washes and dries incredibly well. (in the dryer!) It's pricey, but worth it.

[barbara]

I haven't worked with much cotton myself, but I'd have to second Norma's Rowan Calmer recommendation. It is sooo soft and stretchy and really a pleasure to work with.

[Julia]

Lion Brand Cotton Ease is 50% cotton/50% acrylic, washable, dryable, doesn't hurt the hands, is pretty soft, not as heavy as 100% cotton, and it's pretty darn reasonably priced. Start with a baby sweater if you want to give it a test drive. I have used Classic Elite cottons, and they are luxurious, but tend to be a bit sheddy. Pricey too.
3 knots per ball? I'd whine too.

[Emily]

Lovely scarf.. I wish I could touch it. I'm leaning toward cotton/acrylic blends also.