New yarn haul from Schoppel-Wolle

New Acquaintances

13/12/2014

First of all: since we are talking New, we need to talk new yarn a bit!
I think it is always a happy moment to introduce the new friends we recently brought home to live with us... So, meet my new pals:

Schoppel-Wolle on knittingtherapy blog, by La Maison Rililie

This one on the left is a good old acquaintance of mine (and probably your's too) I always have at least one Zauberball in my stash, because when a quick and fun striping effect is needed they never let me down: either in socks, shawls or on my funky grandpa!

So, when I checked the website of Zauberball's maker, Schoppel-Wolle, and saw that they have a new similar make out there (this one is even 100% wool), I had to have it!! It is called XL Kleckse and is very soft (much more than the original Zauberball). It doesn't really have colour changes per se, but one colour in different intensity, an ombre effect of some sort. I can't wait to try it out in some stripes!

These guys up here are from Schoppel's Cat Print Hand Dye Collection: 6 Karat (80% wool and 20% silk) and have a lovely sheen that must look really gorgeous when knitted up!
I especially love the green with the blue hues (colourway: Froschkönig - King of Frogs!!!).
Well, it definitely feels and looks like it is something a royal amphibian would be happy to be clad in.

And I got some summery yarn, too: Leinen Los (70% wool & 30% linen) is a sport weight yarn that knits up with a nice hand and will be gorgeous in a draped garment. One can feel the linen much more in the grey yarn, which has more of a papery feel than the cream one.

As you can see in the swatch I am thinking of mixing those two to make a high contrast striped "thing"... hopefully ready to wear in spring!

The last I got was this different, natural sock yarn called Alb Socke. The wool is locally sourced from Swabian Jura in Germany and it also has 15% linen in it - So there is no synthetic fibre in this sock yarn: The main reason I wanted to try it out, since I was keen on finding an alternative to the nylon that is usually mixed into sock yarn, to give it durability and longevity.

It's true that the linen gives this sock yarn a very different feel - my ordinary sock yarn feels much more "plasticky" than this one, which is soft but firm!
And I knitted my little swatch of Alb Socke with my new, tiny, short circular needles!
After hearing so much about the merits of knitting socks with 9inch circulars, I had to try them out myself and bought a bunch of them...

Short circulars on knittingtherapy blog, by La Maison Rililie

I can't really say that I am convinced, though.... they are so tiny that one needs to hold them very differently. After knitting about 20 minutes with these little fellows I felt a slight pain in my fingers, for the first time ever since I knit! Either I am getting old or It might very well be that I am not at all used to holding the needles like that and that my hands are not relaxed at all while knitting... I definitely need to give them a chance though and see how it goes.

Up to this point, I am still quicker with my DPNs and working with them feels much more natural and easy on my hands. The good thing with the small circulars is that one doesn't get any laddering at all (since the knitting goes round and round). Bad thing is that I need stitch markers to mark the beginning of the round and to differentiate the insole from the top part of the sock... something that my DPNs were showing me at one glance before.

Besides the HiyaHiya sharps I have bought the Addi Premium (with the golden cord) and the stainless steel HiyaHiya (with the bend needle, which by the way I am not sure about either at the moment), in different needle sizes and 9 inch and 12 inch cords...

So, which are the short circulars you like best (if you are liking them at all)?
And if so, why do you prefer them to DPNs?
I think that I am still on the fence with these...

Short circulars vs DPNs on knittingtherapy blog, by La Maison Rililie

But they definitely gain a big, important point because of their cuteness-factor!!!!!
(especially the HiyaHiya sharps with their teal coloured cord)

18 Comments

steph link

13/12/2014 06:29:27 am

I'm not nearly as determined to love those shorties as you are....tried them once, my hands cramped up, and I ditched them pronto. The ladder used to bother me some, but the more you wear the socks, the quicker it disappears (if it doesn't totally disappear with blocking), so I'm good with dps. But then, I'm an old dog; I hate magic loop, too!!!

Rililie link

13/12/2014 06:38:03 am

Ahh.... I am so glad that there is somebody else out there that isn't convinced by the short circs! I am still going to try to "train" myself to use them (hey, I bought a bunch already) - but if I decide that I don't like them after all, I won't feel all alone and lonely!!!!
:D

Ute

13/12/2014 01:46:58 pm

I find the short circulars less comfortable than DPNs as well, BUT it gets better with practice (though not perfect, at least not for me), and they really are great for doing colourwork. I was quite annoyed when I had to use DPNs for the ecclefechan mitts by Kate Davies recently, since I couldn't find any circulars in the right size ... I've recently bought kinki (great name!) amibari asymmetric circulars at Tangled Yarn. I find them slightly more comfortable to hold but have a feeling I'll manage to break them pretty soon as they are tiny bamboo needles and I am a tight knitter ... Thank you for sharing your new yarns, by the way. Most of them are new to me and look very tempting indeed.

Rililie link

13/12/2014 03:02:22 pm

Thank you for the info on the kinki circulars (yes... the name is already enough to make me go look for them!). I will preserve and try to like the short circs more. We will see how far I get...
:)
And I should try them out with colourwork - you are right that it should be easier to do stranded knitting with only one needle to concentrate on!
:)

Tanis link

13/12/2014 05:16:40 pm

It must all boil down to how you hold your needles. I can't stand short circular needles and am way more comfortable on dpns, so you're definitely not alone! I bet that people who love the short circs have a different knitting style than me and that's why they can make them work. I love knitting with circular needles but for small circumference knitting I'm all about my dpns!

Rililie link

14/12/2014 03:40:45 am

Interesting point! I will try and experiment with how to hold my needles next time I try those short ones out - although there is not much space to really have much options, is there?
;)

But I am quite happy that I am not alone in this...!!!!
Thank you so much for that!

KayB

14/12/2014 02:46:38 am

First, thanks for the 'heads-up' on the new yarns. I wish there would be a section in Rav where people review or talk about new yarns. Maybe there is and I simply fail to see it. My Lys is sadly totally geared towards the poly-market, so browsing there doesn't yield no results when it comes to new types/yarns. In the end I tend to use the ones I'm familiar with or rely on blogs like yours.
Regarding the very short circs, I second Tanis. The shortest my hand are able to handle are 40cm (16") and that only for a shortish time, therefore I use DPNs, since I don't like the magic loop method at all.

Rililie link

14/12/2014 03:47:06 am

That would be a wonderful idea! Although there is the comment section in each yarn, where I often read up on reviews from real users (and which is very useful) - one has to actively find the yarn itself and there is no "new" section. At least I have not found it myself until now.
I would love to see this implemented, since I adore trying out new yarn (who doesn't by the way)!!!
I am OK with magic loop, but don't love it (especially for sleeves it tends to drive me crazy to pull the cord every minute and to adjust everything) - that's why I had hopes for the smaller circs: to work the darn sleeves...
For socks I probably stick with my DPNs. It's much more fun for me!!!
(I start to wonder if there is actually somebody out there who likes those short circulars???)
:)

Julie link

14/12/2014 11:34:13 am

fabulous new yarn!! I knit socks on 9 inch circulars, and I prefer them to dpns, but they require that you hold them a little differently- I find that people tend to grip the mini circs too tightly, and that contributes to feeling strained and sore. If you loosen up your grip, they'll feel more comfortable.

Rililie link

14/12/2014 01:08:33 pm

Ah... finally! A supporter!!!!
I was wondering where the short circulars fans where hiding!
;)

That's very true - I was really trying to find a way to keep my hands relaxed, but they definitely gripped the tiny metal-bit too tightly!
I'll try it out again with some relaxing yoga music.... it might help!
Thanks so much Julie!!!

Karin (Karinita0607)

15/12/2014 06:05:14 am

What a nice new yarns you got. I only knew the Zauberball and feel tempted to try those new yarns now too :)
I really prefer short circulars. I'm not a sock knitter, but on sleeves I always start with the 40 cm (16") ones and at a certain point I switch to the 30 cm (12") ones. Although that's not always necesary. I think I just hold them normally, not too tight and I don't have any problems with them although I prefer the longer circulars. I also used the 20 cm ones, but that was a little bit too short, my hands did hurt after using them!

Rililie link

15/12/2014 01:14:56 pm

Glad that you like my new yarn - I only knew the Zauberball, too - but there is so much more nice yarn out there!!! We need it all!!!!
:)

I haven't tried my shorties on sleeves yet (but want to do it ASAP) - you are right, the 40cm seem to be easier to handle than the really small ones. I'll tell you how it goes....

Diane Ulitsch

15/12/2014 12:50:00 pm

I absolutely love my 9" HiyaHiya needles! I used to knit my socks on 40" needles using magic loop and this is so much faster. I hated having to adjust them at the end of each side. For my hubby's socks, I use 12" Addi needles because there are more stitches. When it comes time to work the heel flap, I move the unused stitches to a stitch marker for a little extra room.

Rililie link

15/12/2014 01:18:42 pm

Aha! Another true fan!!!!
I agree, magic loop is not fun for socks - I probably dislike it more than the short circulars....! The sock is already small enough and all this pulling/adjusting every 30 seconds really is annoying!
Interesting that you put the unused stitches on hold when working the heel. I will keep it in mind when I get this far with my shorties!
:)

nommi link

16/12/2014 06:14:47 am

I do think it boils down to what you get used to. And what you get used to depends on your natural knitting preferences and probably your personality, etc… though let's not go there! Once you find the tool you like, that's what you keep going back to, and you get better and better at it, and more and more confident and relaxed. Then, switching to another tool inevitably leads to tighter knitting, sore hands, and less pleasure--it least at the beginning.
I tried DPNs, 2 circs and magic loop in my first few projects involving sleeves and socks and I am a dedicated magic loop knitter. Especially when knitting textured fabric--like the Tangy socks by Hunter Hammersen I am knitting now--or a pattern with lots of increases/decreases, I find it so much easier to have these changes occurring with only one break in the flow of knitting. Having to frequently redistribute stitches on 4 or even 3 DPNs was a burden to me. I also find that working twisted stitches, increases and decreases on the first and last stitches of a section to be the most problematic, and with magic loop there are only 2 of these points in a round, compared with 3 or 4 for DPNs. I also enjoy just setting up my hands just twice every round, instead of 3-4 times. And, as usual, with practice and good knitting karma the ladders get to be less and less of an issue with each project.
Per your yarn suggestions, I am an avid reader of your reviews and am grateful for your advice. Your projects are always so lovely, I feel that I can be confident taking a direction you suggest. I wonder, however, about the resiliency of the wool/linen blend for socks. My experience is that linen tends to "stay put" once it is, say, stretched out going over a heel, for instance. I wonder what your experience with the linen blend is like.
As always, a great blog, Rililie. Happy holidays!

Rililie link

16/12/2014 01:41:49 pm

You are absolutely right, Nommi - these are all just different tools to help us find the one we feel most comfortable with... and that's a really great thing nowadays that we have so many options to choose from! One needs to try them all out to find the one that works (or stay with the one that works already)!
And I am glad that you like my yarn-stories (I wouldn't really call them reviews, since they are just personal opinions and not scientific at all).
I can't tell you how the wool/linen socks are going to work in the long run, since I just have started the tiny sock bit you see in the picture...
Linen would be a bad idea for socks by itself - but maybe the high percentage of wool is going to iron out all the linen-stretchiness and helps it get back into shape? I know that a cotton/wool sock-yarn I used in the past worked quite nicely and cotton isn't too elastic either.
But I will need to come back and tell you how the finished and worn sock is "performing".
(Although I am playing around with the idea to rip the started sock and to knit a simple, everyday grey sweater out of this wool/linen blend... I have a feeling that it would be lovely)!!!

Maorie link

21/12/2014 03:06:14 am

Also very interesting , and I totally agree with Nommi . I'm a magic loop lover (80 cm long needles, for all projects in the round), for the same reasons as Nommi . I also buy this little needles to avoid differences tension when I knit in the round with thin yarns , but doesn't match with my hands . I just try few minutes ;-) . May be I must try another with more time ...
And I love your yarn story , I want to try all ;-)

Rililie link

21/12/2014 03:35:39 am

I also have mostly worked magic loop for sleeves (not socks, there I am a DPN addict) - and just recently tried out the 40cm cord length circulars for a sleeve and I have to say that it really is much smoother, quicker and easier. I am still at the upper arm though and we will see how it goes when I have to switch to a shorter needle for the lower arm section - I have the impression that 40cm is probably my limit for comfortable knitting....
:)