Earthquakes

There were earthquakes here today. The first one was around 6:15 this morning and was a 6.0. Its center was about 60 miles from Elko. There were small ones all day, and a 4.2 at 4:00.

Knitting hasn't been so exciting. I finished the something for someone. I just need to weave in ends and add a ribbon. I also finished the Bas Relief hat. It was a fun pattern. It doesn't have a recipient, so it's going in my spare gift pile (newly formed with this hat).


I'm working on the Seamless Hybrid for my brother. His favorite sweater has a 48" chest. This may take a while. I meant to seam up the hem as I knit, but I got caught up in whatever I was watching while working on it and forgot to do it. Whoops. Now I'll have to seam 48 inches worth of hem. That was the reason I did a turned hem in the first place.

I'm going to Alaska on Saturday to work on a documentary about friends who are working on a mechanical ice sculpture in the Ice Alaska competition. I didn't make it to the competition last year, so I'm really excited to go. I don't think I'll be taking the body of Stef's sweater. I got some Vesper Sock Yarn in Sweet Water the other day (I couldn't resist--I've wanted some for so long).

It's really colorful. I ordered a kitchen scale so I can split the skein, but it hasn't come yet. If it doesn't come tomorrow, I might take other sock yarn. I bought some Happy Feet (so soft) and some Panda Wool while in Boise last weekend. I also have some Shibui waiting in the stash. Looks like socks are it.

Treasures

It's my first blog award ever, given to me by someone I cherish. Jen and I have been friends since middle school cheerleading and her children are like a niece (my Godchild) and nephew to me. I started this blog two years ago because I wanted to comment on her blog. I can't really give the award back to her, so check out her blog to understand why I love her so much.


Instead, I'm going to pass this along to Aimee at It's My Party, because her blog is so very much an example of Aimee. Even though we're a country apart now, I can hear her stresses and the way she processes her thoughts and the world through her blog. Not to mention the fact that she is an incredible artist.

Spring?

So who do I believe? Punxsutawney Phil or the robins hopping around the yard?

The Gathering is over. I think it went well. We had bad weather, but that made everyone seem friendlier. I guess they figured they were stuck in a good place. Here are a few photos. Remember that you can check out some of the shows on the Western Folklife Center website.

Adrian. Her voice gives me chills.

Oscar and Dylan, waiting their turn at the microphone.

Boots. Mine are the pretty reddish ones.

Kut, a group from Kyrgyzstan

Obviously, I didn't get much knitting done these last couple weeks. I had started a pair of Firestarter socks, but I ended up frustrated with the pattern and a little unhappy with my gauge. I ripped it. I am working on a something for someone. It should be finished soon--it's a little something. I want to start a sweater, so I ordered a lot of yarn I can't afford. I added to my stash of Eco Wool.


The yardage! Makes me swoon. I also think I can use this wool without too much trouble, even though I generally stay away from Peruvian Highland Wool. This doesn't feel as scratchy. In fact, I was hardly itchy during swatching. I think I'm going to make a sweater for Stef out of it. He's been asking for a sweater for some time now, and I'd like to make the EZ Seamless Hybrid. want to make a sweater for Dan, too, but I want to use Skye Tweed. I've only got eight balls. I don't think that will be enough. It's not even enough for a sweater for my sister, who wears extra small things. Speaking of, I ordered yarn to make the Dollar and a Half cardigan for her. I'm definitely itching to make a sweater.

On top of all that, I ordered some Misti Alpaca chunky to finish the Bas Relief hat I started way back before Christmas. I needed another skein of something to get the discount at Webs.

Caucus

I thought I couldn't caucus today because I had problems registering to vote way back in November when I had the time. Turns out I could register today. It's quite an interesting process. Everyone stands in the corner of the candidate they are caucusing for. If there isn't a "viable majority" in a corner, those people can be wooed by the other candidates' corners. It's a very communal process. I'm glad I got to participate.

I also finished the Anastasia socks. They were fun. I have to mail them off to the friend they are for. With the Gathering on the horizon, I'm not sure she'll get them for a while.

I used Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks sport weight yarn in Kona. It was nice. Boy, that sport weight sure makes socks move fast. I liked it much. It didn't pool, but it did stripe in a nice way. It works well with the eyelet pattern of the sock.

Now that I'm on Ravelry, I have more chances to find interesting patters. I've started the Swiss Cheese Scarf. I'm using Louet Gems in a fine/sport weight, instead of the laceweight called for. I hope it isn't too drapey. I'm not sure who this will be for, but I wanted something interesting and simple for my next project. I don't think I'll be able to spend much mental energy on anything but Cowboy Poetry for the next couple weeks.

*Updated (2 hours later): I decided not to make the Swiss Cheese Scarf right now. I want to use that yarn for something else, I think. I also have a couple baby things I want to make. So, I'm starting a hat out of some stash Pima Tencel in green and brown.

Ravelry

I just found out that Ravelry sent my invitation way back in October. I've been too preoccupied to check. I guess my spam filter worked this time. It's too late to play now, but I'm so relieved to be able to look at the references that everyone else makes to their Ravelry lists. Oh, find me at "everywhereknit."

Unfinished

I have three unfinished projects. The bottom two (Everlasting Bagstopper and Bas Relief hat) in the picture are unfinished because I ran out of yarn and don't have the funds to buy more (anyone want to buy a wonderful condo in Chicago?). The other (Drops dress) I needed to put down after ripping back about five inches. I was worried about running out of yarn on this, too, but perhaps I have gained some yardage in correcting my mistake.

So I'm working on socks. I finished this sock (Anastasia, from Pepperknit. I'm having trouble linking to it) the other night and have started on the second, but I'm itchy to work on something else, too. I have more socks I want to make, but what I really want is something fast and stash-busting. Nothing is jumping out.


I haven't had much time for knitting--the Gathering is in 14 days. I've been working long hours. Luckily, somehow, I've also been able to get out and enjoy the snow. I love the snow. My roommate and I made a snow lady. (I made the hat and a friend's aunt made the scarf).

Today we went cross-country skiing (my second time ever), and we're going again tomorrow. I've joined the group doing the Vagina Monologues on Valentine's Day, and knitting on Thursdays has started up again. I've learned this about Elko: people get out and do things. I think it's to compensate for having so little good entertainment provided. Everyone has to make her own fun. It has been fun. As busy as I am, I'm grateful to be able to enjoy the snow and to make new friends, even at the expense of knitting time.

Gifts

I've been knitting some gifts. Part of the problem of living in Elko is that there's nowhere to shop. There is a nice kitchen store and a lot of places to buy cowboy hats, but I'm not spending that kind of money on anyone. I wasn't going to give gifts this year, since my ticket home costs about as much as a week's work, before taxes. I have to give to a few people, though. I'm way behind for Jen and family. Not that I must get gifts, but because I love knitting for them. My siblings get things, too. And that's it. I'd make something for Dan, but I'm simply out of time. He can get a knitted present in January, for helping with the Gathering. So here's the latest.

The Rib and Cable Scarf from One Skein. I was surprised how quickly this took. Usually, scarves bore me to tears. I was getting close at the end, but I like how it turned out so I guess it was worth it (speaking of scarves, I just got Knitting New Scarves and I love it. It might make me a scarf knitter yet).


Mittens using stash yarn and a basic pattern. You can see that I ran out of grey near the end. The different color thumbs were on purpose because there's a right and a left mitten, but not the black on the top of the hand. I hope they fit. I estimated the measurements and the person they are for has bigger hands than I.


By the way, I finished We Call Them Pirates. It was a bit small but stretched with blocking. I am not giving it to the person I made it for. It would have been too small and too itchy for her. I did give it away to someone I know here in Elko who looked fabulous in it. I forgot to take pictures, though.

Not Happy

I am not happy with my blogging habits of late. What should I do? Take a break? I don't want to do that because I like sharing what I've done, and I really like the contact with the few others I've "met" through blogging. Do I just stop feeling guilty that I can't get a post together every couple days? Do I force myself to blog even if there's nothing to say (like today)?

I did finish We Call Them Pirates. It looked too small but it blocked much larger (whew). I still have to tack down the lining and then I'll take pictures. I've started the Rib and Cable scarf from One Skein. I had to put the bag on hold because I ran out of yarn. I was using leftovers from other things, and I have more of the AllHemp 6, but it's in red and the other two colors were a light grey and a blue. I just don't think the recipient wants a patriotic bag. I don't think I'd like knitting it, either. I'm not one for using those colors together for anything.

That's it. I'm contemplating starting some socks for my sister, or maybe some for Dan. I have some nice sock yarn to work and it's been awhile since I've made a pair. I need a fun pattern, though. I've been making basic socks but now I feel I need to spice up my sock making. All the yarn I have is variegated. That makes it tough to choose the right pattern. Why are all the great yarns multicolored but all the great patterns in a solid-color yarn?

Worn Out

Moving to a completely new place is hard. Starting a new job is hard. I have to learn something new every day. Not just something, but lots of things. Lots of important things. If I'm not learning something new then I'm figuring something out. I'm beat. I'm looking forward to the holidays and hanging with family and friends just for the familiarity of it all.

I'm still super busy. I've been working on We Call Them Pirates and another Everlasting Bagstopper. Both are for gifts, so I don't want to tell too much. I've finished one round of skulls on the hat and have only just started the bag.

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long! I miss it. I didn't realize it had been so long. Well, I finished the mittens and made a hat to go with them. I didn't take pictures, but my cousin says they are great. I ran out of yarn for the Bas Relief hat, since I was using the leftovers from the mittens. I might finish it with the multicolor just so I can have it finished.

My roommate and a few people have started meeting on Thursdays to knit. I haven't yet emailed the people who I met more than a month ago. I can't go to the group they've started because I don't have a car so I can't get there. If I don't get around to emailing them and they read this, I hope they will come to the Duncan Little Creek on Thursdays after work hours.

I stocked up on yarn while in San Rafael (sorry, Carrie, that I didn't let you know. I'll be back in the area for New Year's). Of note are some Pagewood Farm sock yarn died especially for Marin Fiber Arts in Bird of Paradise (mostly greens) and some Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Kona Superwash in Brooks Browns. I'm not usually a scarf knitter, but I think this is destined for a cozy scarf. I also bought some yarn on sale: GGH Savanna in a sagey green; GGH Davos in white, brown, and blue; and Lana Grossa Royal Tweed in a tweed green. For some reason I only bought one of those. I'm sure I had a reason, but it's a pretty soft tweed so I'm wishing I'd bought more. I haven't taken pictures (yes, that busy, new job excuse again--I'm going to use this until after the Gathering, you know) of the yarn, but I'm sure I'll knit with the hand-dyed stuff very soon.

Since I have no knitting pictures, I'm going to leave you with images from my weekend moving cattle. That's right. I was on horseback (for the first time in very many years). On a real, working ranch, moving cattle from one grazing area to another. It was a blast. You can click the pictures to make them bigger.

That's me on the horse.


My new pal.

Sunday morning I fed some bulls off the back of the truck. That was pretty fun, too. I'm amazed at how shy the cows and bulls are. This was my first ranch experience and I hope the ranchers need help again because it was a great adventure.

Pucker Up

I'm not enjoying posting just once a week. It's more enjoyable to blog every few days, even just twice a week. If I'm too busy to post during the week, I feel obligated then on the weekend, and that's just not as fun. Of course, I don't have time to knit, either, so there hasn't been anything to blog about.

That said, I've got two projects to post. First, a quick hat I made. Actually, it wasn't that quick. Friday night I stayed up until two o'clock trying to finish. I was having fun, but the need for sleep won out. I finished and blocked it yesterday. It usually takes me a few days to get around to blocking, which is why I haven't posted the second project, the baby blanket, until now.

The hat is Koolhaas from the Interweave Holiday issue. On all but the first and last time I knit the eighth row of the repeat, I did it incorrectly. It all worked fine, but I was confused at the end. Once I read the pattern it made sense. It's a little long because of that, but that means the brim can be rolled up. I used Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb from the stash. It's much softer after blocking.

I finished the baby blanket. I used the pi formula Elizabeth Zimmerman outlines. I didn't use eyelets but a kf&b because I didn't want holes. Once finished, the blanket puckered in the middle. The pucker and color made it look like that part of the mother's body the baby will gain nourishment from when she's first born. I guess that means it will be comforting to her? Or just taste fuzzy. Luckily, after blocking and stretching a little, it seems to be flat.
I was worried that I'd have to unpick the cast on to tighten the middle. Now I just have to find the post office to mail this off (yes, this means I still haven't mailed the Fair Isle hat, either).

On the needles now is a pair of mittens for my cousin. She asked for them, which I greatly appreciate. It's nice to knit something I know someone wants. I'm using Misti Alpaca Chunky for that. I bought two skeins and a multicolor hand paint skein for a hat, but it looks like the mittens will only take one skein. I might whip up a scarf with the multicolor and extra solid instead of a hat, or in addition to a hat if I have enough.

I'm headed to California for Thanksgiving. It will be one of very few Thanksgivings I haven't spent with family, but it will be nice to spend it with Dan. He said he would make a special batch of stuffing for me. I love stuffing. And pumpkin pie, which Dan doesn't like. I'm thinking I might insist on making a pumpkin pie so that my Thanksgiving will be perfect (my Aunt Chris's recipe is the best, ever. I can't imagine a Thanksgiving dinner without it). I'm nervous that I'll have to drive through snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I hear they close down I-80 if it snows. Cross your fingers that it doesn't snow between now and next week.

I took down the Elko Sky blog. If I can't keep up this blog, you bet I can't take and post pictures every day. The sky is still incredible, though. Come visit and see for yourself.

Fair

First, I want to publicly apologize to my friends and family for neglecting to email or call. I've been busy. But not with knitting. That seems to be slow going.

I'm busy working. I know there's a level of anonymity to keep when blogging, and it's taboo to talk about work. I like my work, though. This is the first time I get to work with other folklorists. I'm doing fun and good work. If you want to know more about what I do, please visit this site, and check out this cybercast and these links for examples of the events I'm planning. Please listen to the podcast, too. I don't work on that, but the podcasts are a good and interesting example of the work I do.


Last week I finished the Bea Ellis hat. It's great, albeit just a little tight. I got into a good rhythm with the stranding. So much so that I repeated one round, but I figured that the friend this is for has a lot of hair, and could use a little extra height. I think I'm going to make We Call Them Pirates as my next Fair Isle-style project. Here's the requisite inside shot of Ufserud.

I'm currently struggling with Blue Sky's Brushed Alpaca. It's pretty and soft, but fuzzy. I'm knitting it in the round in garter stitch, so I have to purl every other row. Not fun. Give me a smooth yarn any day. I'll probably finish this project in a couple days, if I can find the time, that is.

Adjusting

In order to keep track of one of the few things that I immediately liked about Elko, I have started a photo blog called Elko Sky. I'm going to try to take a photo each day around sunset for a month, excusing myself for days when I just can't get outside for one reason or another (like last night, when I was in a meeting). We'll see how it goes. If I can stick with it for a month, I'll keep it going.

On Monday I went to a knitting group. There were two people, but it was an attempt at being proactive. I need to force myself to get out and meet people. I had to go at lunch, so I didn't stay long. It was nice to have a place to go knit in the middle of the day.

Over the weekend I made some slippers for myself. I used some left over 1824 Cotton from other slippers I made. This pattern was fast. It took about three hours to complete one, sewing on the button and all. Were I to make this again, I'd increase less before the ribbing. The slippers are just a little too big. They are comfy, though.


I am working on the baby blanket still, and I ordered the Flair kit from Kpixie. I'm headed to North Carolina on Sunday. My brother returns from Iraq next week, so I'm excited to be there greet him. All my projects are big, though, so I might have to start a hat or some socks. I'll see what's in the stash. I'll take too much, no matter what.

Elko Sky

Today is rough. I don't know what to do. I'm bored. This is the major drawback of a small town. There aren't even any movies I want to see. There was a craft get together, but it started at ten and I was still in my jammies. I was going to go for a walk, but it's hailing (afternoon update: now it's snowing), so that's out. I like my job, but the jury is still out on Elko itself. I guess I could do things around the house, but it's not my house, so I don't quite know what to do (my roommate is in Québec City at a conference I decided to skip because I didn't want to take time off my second week of work). I will say this for Elko: it has beautiful skies, especially at sunset. Here are few pictures from last night.



I'm thinking of starting a photo blog called Elko Sky. Every night I've been stunned by the sky. I don't have the skills for a photo blog, really, and I doubt I'd keep it up, especially daily, but I feel the need to share this sky. I guess since there aren't any trees to block the view, the sky is more notable.

Knitting? I'm still loving the Suri Merino. It is the softest yarn I've used. Here's the hat I made for Dan, still unblocked (I guess I can do that today), which is why the brim is rolling.

Trailing of the Sheep

I finished a hat for Dan. I am so busy, though, I haven't blocked or photographed it yet. I was too busy last week, working at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Idaho. There was plenty of yarn around, but I didn't take advantage of any of the hand spun. Mostly, I was helping to interview people at the festival. Our interview station was in the blue sheep camp.


It was a really lovely time. The bummer (which is a term for an orphaned lamb, by the way) is that I used my camera to record on video the actual trailing of the sheep and then proceeded to immediately delete it.

Work is extra busy. At least, I hope it's extra busy. I don't know if I can be busier than this.

I'm working on a baby blanket from Blue Sky's Suri Merino. Wow. It is super soft. I think the recipient won't care that she'll have to hand wash it once she feels how soft it is. I love it. I'm already scheming excuses to make other things from it. I'm hoping I don't use all the skeins I have so I can make something else with it. I'm not sure what I'd make from a baby-pink yarn, but I'll find a way just so I can touch this some more.

Warming Up

So far, work has been good. I've only been there two days, and today was full of meetings. I feel like I have enough knowledge now to really start working. The weather has improved, too. Today we saw a high of seventy--and a low of thirty. I think these vast temperature differences are normal for the desert, but it's going to take some getting used to. I wore leg warmers this morning but walked home this evening in short sleeves and with bare legs.

I finished some mittens. I started them in Chicago and finally got around to finishing them this weekend. I made a mistake in the same spot on both mittens, so they are a bit tight. I'm hoping that they will loosen up, since they are a cotton/silk blend. I designed the slip stitch (mosaic) pattern myself, with a little math correction from a friend. Three times thirteen is thirty-nine, I've learned. I like the effect of the slip stitch, but I find the yarn strains a little over two rows. It's even worse over one row, like in my mistake, but I'm not sure why.

I'm not sure what to make next. I have a couple things in mind for Dan, but I don't have the yarn for it. Really. I have some nice Top of the Lamb, but only in one color (graphite). I don't want to make a solid color hat. Especially since he wants earflaps. It will be too helmet-like. I might use that yarn for some slippers, though. I have to research some men's slippers in a worsted-weight yarn. I guess I could work on Usferud. I did promise it to a friend in Chicago. I should get that done before it gets cold there.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Trailing of the Sheep Festival. For work. I think I might love this job.

Not Ready to Post

In fact, I'm not ready for anything. I start work, managing the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering for the Western Folklife Center, on Monday. I loved the event last year, and I'm really excited to be a part of it. But. After four months of very little work, I'm not sure I'm ready for full time. Quitting my job was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Will I be able to adjust to working again? I know WFC is not crazy or extremely dysfunctional and passive aggressive like the last, and I like the people I know and the ones I met last year. I am so very excited to work with other folklorists, doing work that I think is important. But. Do I know how to work in a healthy environment? It's been a while.

I'm also not ready for Elko. It's 40 degrees today, and it snowed yesterday. It's in the upper 80s in Chicago. I was definitely sick of the Chicago humidity, but I am not ready for snow and the dryness of the desert. This is small town, too. Not just small town, but small town in the desert, which means no other towns for miles. Elko is "town" for a lot of the smaller populations in Northern Nevada. This is new. Am I ready for this, either? I feel so unprepared.

I haven't done any knitting. I have one mitten complete and another started. I'm trying to unpack and infiltrate my stuff into my friend's house (she's been so gracious about me living with her). Perhaps I'll get back to knitting soon. My friend doesn't watch TV, so my knitting time is going to have to adjust to that. The knitting might be slow going for a while.

Oh, I did get a fabulous gift from Nina and one of her employees before I left Chicago. She gave me a great drawstring bag from Della Q in my colors, and four skeins of O-Wool Balance. Add the two blue and two purple to the two purple I already have and something good will come of this, I'm sure. I really liked that yarn for the February Sweater, so I'm trying to find something just as appropriate. Maybe a throw. It's cold here.

The Beginning of the End

I have only five more days in Chicago. Needless to say, not much knitting has been happening. I finished the Center Square hat for Stefan, but I forgot to take a picture. It looks like the green one, only in black and grey. Stef came to visit this weekend. Or, rather, he came to crash at my place so he could have fun in Chicago. It was nice to see him anyway.

Today is the only day this week I don't have dinner plans. I don't think much knitting is going to be done this week, either. I've got some serious packing to do.

Dan's here, though, and that calms me tremendously. I gave him his surprise gift, which is what the successful lace is from. It's an altar cloth with an intarsia and embroidered version of a tree from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. I copied the image, removed everything but the tree (as best I could), and overlaid it on a grid set to the proportions of my swatch. Surprisingly, it only took about a week to make. The embroidery was the hardest part, since I didn't know what I was doing (even harder than the lace!), but I think I did alright. I was very happy with it, and Dan was excited about it.

This Makes it All Worthwhile

Doesn't Jen look like she stepped off the page of the pattern book?

Looking at it, I can't believe I made it. It's Gathering Intentions from Inspired Cable Knits. When I saw the sweater, it just screamed out to be made for Jen. I finished it at her house, after she'd gone to bed so it would remain secret. It fits beautifully and really does suit Jen. The yarn is Valley Yarns Valley Superwash. I like it. It was really sproingy, which I love in a yarn. Plus, it's washable, which is perfect for a mom. Because Jen is a mom, I left off the gathered I-cord part of the right sleeve. I didn't think dangling ties were practical. She'd dip them in a lot of things and they'd get pulled on. I did leave the gathered part on the front, because I liked how it made the design unique.

Also while at Jen's I made Center Square. My floats were a tiny bit close together and they stretch on a big head like mine, making it feel tight. A person with a smaller head will be fine. I don't have an intended recipient, so I'll keep my eye out for someone with a smaller head. I showed the hat to my brother, who immediately wanted it. Then he said "but it won't match my scarf." So now I'm making another out of black and grey RYC Cashsoft. The lengths I go to for family. Let me just say how much I love this yarn, by the way. So soft.

When the Yarn is Packed

I thought I could make it through the month without buying yarn. As if I have that kind of will power. I packed up all my stash, because my condo has to look like no one lives here. This is more of a challenge to me than the actual move. I have stuff. I use stuff. It gets left out. I feel like I need to make space in a closet to hide stuff when there's a showing (please, someone buy my condo soon!). Luckily, there's a lot of storage in this small place.

A friend of mine just had a baby and wants to have a knitalong. She and I are going to make a Fair Isle-style hat. Because she is a new mom and has much less time for knitting than I do, she's going to make Center Square from the Winter 2006 Knitty, and I'm going to make that and finish Usferud (which I started last year, but am going to rip back to the cotton lining part). So I needed yarn, see. I didn't like the brown I was using on Usferud, so I ordered a darker color, which came super fast from Yarnzilla. I don't like their lack of a yarn search, but they do ship fast and have good prices. Today I walked to Nina to buy yarn for Center Square. I got some RYC Cashsoft Aran in Forest and Karabella Aurora 8 in Leaf.

Then I got inspired. I've been in Nina a lot over the past couple weeks, but nothing has struck my fancy. Today I wanted everything. I bought some Misti Cotton in Brown and Light Blue Twist. There's a ton of yardage in those hanks, so I justified it that way. I think they'll either become mittens or a hat for me.

First, though, I'm finishing Something for Jen. I'm hoping to get it finished before I visit her next week, but if not I'll give it to her for Christmas. I'm quite far along. Some concentrated knitting time should make finishing it by Tuesday night possible.

I Did It!

I made lace. Two separate patterns, even. The first, the one on the bottom, is Serendipity from Knitting on the Edge. Yarn overs and k3togs on both sides. Of course, there's only twelve rows and seventy-four stitches so it wasn't too torturous. The second pattern is Winding Trail from Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns. Even though it was a seven stitch repeat over twelve rows with purling on all wrong side rows, I had a harder time with it than Serendipity. I think I got too sure of my self with the easier pattern. I'd think I was in a rhythm and then realize that I added a yarn over where one didn't belong.

The biggest problem I had was with the yarn. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk. It's a really lovely yarn and creates a thicker fabric than I expected. The silk strands kept snagging. I think it was the silk and not the Alpaca, though sometimes the long fibers of the Alpaca made getting into the P3tog stitches difficult. I used size five Options for this, but I think duller needles would have been worse. I don't think it was the needle as much as a quality I can't quite put my finger on. Like the silk was too slippery or something. None of the snags were serious. I probably shouldn't even call them snags. In the end, I still feel successful.