Thursday, August 12, 2010

Squeaky wheel.

I'm not afraid to be the squeaky wheel. I always try to be pleasant and professional about it, but the reality is that one must occasionally squeak to get things done.

On the other hand, I'm really not a fan of squeaky yarn.

If you're reading this blog, you've probably already learned that "Once you go natural, you never go back." We've all tried knitting with those chain-store acrylics to save a buck, only to find that our hours and hours of work are for naught, because we can't stand to squeak when we wear the sweater. Ew, it's so much worse than nails on a chalkboard!

Well, today I'm here to tell you that there's an exception to every rule. Actually, a few exceptions. There's Berroco Comfort and Comfort Chunky, which Berroco says are superfine acrylic and nylon. I don't know if they're as superfine as, say, Bradley Cooper. But they do make surprisingly wool-like, washable knitwear!

And the ultimate exception to the rule? The magical Marble Chunky by Kertzer. A lovely, unsqueaky, washable 340 yards for twelve bucks and change - and with those colors, who can argue?

One of my favorite uses for Marble Chunky is the good ol' Feather and Fan stitch pattern. It does amazing things to the color repeat.
And here is a great Ravelry example of how Marble Chunky looks in a crochet box stitch.


Gene is a big fan of the Marble Chunky, and he worked up a one-skein blanket he wanted to share.


Gene's One-Skein Marble Chunky Baby Blanket
You need: One skein of Marble Chunky, a 10.5 24" circular needle, and 2 stitch markers.
Cast on 80 stitches. Knit 8 rows.
Next row: Knit, placing one marker after the first 5 stitches, and the other marker before the last five stitches.
Next row: Knit 5, slip marker, work stockinette stitch (knit all right-side rows and purl all wrong-side rows) to next marker, knit 5.
When blanket measures 25 inches from beginning/108 rows, or when you have about 20 yards of yarn left, knit 8 rows of garter stitch and bind off (removing markers as you come to them). Weave in tails.



As luck would have it, we just received a large shipment of Marble Chunky at the South Loops store, and expect another shipment any day at Utica. You can also find Marble Chunky here in the Loops online store.

Be the squeaky wheel and get yours before it's gone!

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

3 Comments:

Blogger Tasha said...

Oh my Lord, that box-stitch baby blanket is NOMS! Downloaded from Ravelry immediately, and I'm definitely going to have to come take a look at that yarn.

August 13, 2010 at 2:19 PM  
Anonymous Sherri said...

I fell in love with the super-soft texture of this yarn right away! I crocheted a beautiful "pod" as a photography prop for my grand baby's first photo shoot, and now that we've done that, I'm gonna frog it and make her a beautiful sweater! Can't wait to see what other colors you have now!

August 16, 2010 at 2:09 PM  
Blogger H said...

I love the crochet block stitch. It is so pretty. I need to do it immediately as well!
WOnderful!

August 18, 2010 at 1:15 PM  

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