Once something is finished*, I instantly turn to what’s next. For now, the next thing will be Christmas gifts. I really don’t want to wait to the last minute to get these completed, so I’m trying to make some progress on them now. One of them I should be able to show you but the other one will remain top secret until after Christmas. I’m planning to get through with a few of those projects and then I’ll get to use my new yarn! This is the yarn I got from the Webs summer sale (excuse my stash in the background).

On the left is the gray yarn, which is a cashmere/merino wool blend. On the right is a couple of skeins of dark blue in the back with some light blue in the front which are an angora blend. The color for the blues is a bit better in this picture.

At first, I was really disappointed. The yarn was rough to the touch and I thought cashmere blends were supposed to be soft! However, the website said the yarn gets softer after washing it, so I thought I’d try it. I swatched with it and gave it a bath in the sink. Once it dried, it was SO soft. Soft enough even that my husband expressed an interest in a sweater out of it (which he has never done). So, the gray stuff will go for a sweater for Jason and an entry into the Man-Along if I get to it in time. I have a feeling it will be a top down raglan of some sort, but need to talk to him a bit more about it. I want to make sure it is exactly what he wants. If I can get gauge with it, the blue yarn will be a sweater for me. I’m considering the Huntington Castle sweater from the latest Interweave Knits (it’s on the cover). But, I may just make a sweater with some stripes in it or something.

My dilemma is, do I wash the yarn before I knit it? I think it might be more pleasant to work with that way but is it really worth the effort? Any input would be helpful. For now, I must stay on task. Christmas knitting is the order of the day, but soon this yarn will find it’s way to the needles.

*Thanks for all the comments on Audrey, you guys are so nice! 🙂