Monday, February 16, 2009

Rivolo

Here she is...my finished Rivolo...


I am so very pleased with how this turned out! I wasn't sure how well it would translate in this handspun yarn (the rather overspun handspun, if you recall). All the way through it, I just kept doubting it would really show off the pretty pattern as much as it should. But after a good blocking, the pattern just opened up and...well...I'm thrilled with it! I feel like this is a major accomplishment. :)

This picture shows very well, though, how the one end of the scarf is more green and the other is more reddish brown due to my inexperience in dividing up the fiber for spinning. That also had me worried, thinking it would look funny, but I'm actually pretty pleased with it. Now that it's blocked, the color changes seem to flow much more subtly than they seemed to when I was knitting it. (Who'da thunk blocking could work such miracles? LOL)

Between the coloring and the texture of the yarn, the scarf seems to me to have sort of a rustic look about it, which I think contrasts in a complementary way to the elegance of the pattern.

And speaking of handspun, here are the finished hanks of the mohair/wool I spun from slowCOLOR...


This started out as a "sampler" box of fiber (my "roving sushi"), if you recall. There was only 1/8 of an ounce of each colorway, so my big plan was to just spin each one, alternating light and dark, and using some undyed roving between each colored segment. I had no idea what I'd end up with, but I can say with assurance I did not think it would end up looking this cool! The colors are just so crazy fun the way they went together...total serendipity. (The only color combo I'm not wild about is that green/yellow segment in the far left hank...it just doesn't seem to go with the rest of it, but we'll see how it plays out in whatever I decide to make with it.) It is not a particularly soft yarn...well, it is soft but a little scratchy, thanks, I think, to the mohair, maybe? It's definitely got a rustic look and feel to it (are we detecting a theme here? LOL). But I like it! There is just over 200 yards, so I'm thinking...scarf? (How many scarves does one person need? Really? But they are so much fun to make!)

6 comments:

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Now *that* is an accomplishment! I love your Rivolo. It must be very satisfying to make something from fiber to knitted item.

Anonymous said...

Ilove the scarf and your handspun. its amazing how the transformation takes place and how surprising the results can be with handspun. Very nice.

Anonymous said...

Very lovely scarf/shawl. And I, too, like the fact that it's not simply one color...love the variation.

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! Rivolo looks fantastic in your handspun. Great job!!!

Melissa @ Banana Migraine said...

Oh wow!!! It's so beautiful! You did a wonderful job. Your handspun is gorgeous too!!

Anonymous said...

it is a thing of beauty! wonderful fabulous glorious job.