new superwash worsted yarn and thoughts about Japan

For the past year, I've been trying out different superwash worsted yarns. I have Trillium, which I love for its softness and amiability during dyeing; it is very gracious about accepting dye, unlike some yarns that need to be coaxed, begged, or threatened. And it's one of the few truly squishy yarns that I've encountered--four plies, so it's very smooth, tight enough to avoid splittiness, yet with plenty of give. Its one flaw is that it's aran weight, and a bit heavy for some sweater patterns.

I've had a custom mill run done for me, in addition to trying most of the ones on the market. None have yet had the perfect combination of twist, hand, and general knitting enjoyment that I'm looking for.

Yet another candidate arrived today, and I think this might be The One, at last. It will go into the dyepot this week; I have high hopes for this base.

It does feel terribly trivial to be thinking about yarn, given what's happening in Japan. I gave some money to one of my favorite charities, International Medical Corps, which has a tsunami relief fund. I'd like to give more, but I'm not really sure which organization is best equipped to help right now. And I am transfixed by the struggle to keep the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from complete failure. I still have intermittent daydreams of working in emergency management (I was a public information officer for my county's EM department for years), so I have a professional perspective that's slowly coming to bear as I work through some of my emotional and visceral reactions.

As usual, the NY Times has some incredible interactive graphics. Before and after satellite photos that show the impact of the tsunami and what happens during a reactor meltdown are two really good ones.

I love what I do!

Today was an exceptionally good dyeing day. I was productive and efficient, I got more done than I realistically expected, and my perfectionist self could find nothing to complain about. And the feedback from the Winesap pre-orders started coming in, with the kind of comments that make you all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm happy!

After a flurry of orders, I'm stocked back up with base yarns. Even the long-awaited silk and silver yarn turned up today. I really want to call this yarn Sparkle, but it doesn't fit in with my usual native plant names. I've already used Shooting Star for my superwash 100% merino sock yarn, or else that would be perfect. Alas.

This week I also got a brand new base yarn that I've been coveting for a while--a thick and thin BFL that will probably knit up on size 10 needles, so a quick knit. (I have a hard time saying no to acquiring new BFL lines.) It's even better than I expected--lovely texture, and never gets too thin the way some thick/thin yarns do. I'm caling it Madrona, after the native tree with the beautiful peeling bark. I'm itching to dye some up and get it on the needles. Probably a hat for me; I've been wearing a pretty ugly brown one that I got as a Christmas gift several years ago. It's comfortable, but it's not that warm (it's acrylic), doesn't match anything I own, and makes me look washed out. It's truly pathetic that I haven't made the time to make myself something as simple as a hat.