Swatching across the border

This weekend we were lucky to have one gorgeous day - but Sunday wasn't so great. So Marc and I decided to do a day trip to Ikea in Montreal. I love Ikea! And I'm already having the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" bought a few more things I needed. So I think we'll have to go back sometime soon...

Anyway, the drive to Montreal is easy and quick from Burlington. The girls were excited because they got their first stamps in their brand new passports! (The man was nice enough to oblige!) Thankfully Marc likes to drive, because it gives me time to knit. I worked a bit on the second sleeve to my Cormorant sweater, but I had some new Rowan yarns with me and I was eager to swatch them!



I swatched the Rowan Cocoon first. I love this yarn! It is quick to knit (I used a 10.5) and super soft! For some reason it reminds me of a luxury version of Lopi. I used a lot of Lopi in my college days, but I don't really care for it - I find it scratchy. The colors are gorgeous, but the scratch factor is too much for me. The colors of the Rowan Cocoon remind me of the Lopi colors, but this yarn is in a totally different league. It was lovely to knit with. Here's the unblocked swatch:
I am eyeing a few things from Rowan Magazine 46 for this yarn. I like Stockport:
and Guiseley:
Then I swatched the Rowan Alpaca Cotton, which is a brand new yarn for fall. This is a yummy yarn, available in six natural shades. A word of caution - it does not work well with cuticles that are dry and prickly! I've been in and out of my gardening gloves a lot recently, and have not been taking care of my poor hands, so my cuticles are in terrible shape. I didn't have any hand lotion with me in the car, so as a last resort I grabbed some lip balm and massaged a little in to each cuticle. Luckily this did the trick, and the rest of my swatch went smoothly! This yarn reminded me of mohair, but it's alpaca and cotton. I can't wear mohair. But I could wear this!
Alpaca Cotton has a whole book dedicated to it called Classic Winter Solace. I am in love with the Tilda Coat:and the Lotta Pullover:
So it was a great day... international travel, IKEA, knitting time in the car, and two great new yarns.


And by the way... the Swedish meatballs were delicious, and I now have more of my favorite Plastis dish brushes!