When I became a knitter a couple of years ago, I was very excited to share my lumpy, mishapen projects with all and sundry. Unfortunately, some of my early knit-speriments scared off most of my friends and now I mainly knit for my family, who cannot get away. The thing about my family is that they're all allergic to wool and all other animal fibre. Sheep, alpaca, goat, rabbit - they get hives. Because I'm not a millionaire, I cannot knit all off their things with silk, but I do like to knit with natural fibre. I resigned myself to a life of knitting exclusively with cotton.
You can imagine my delight when I discovered that I was so, so wrong; there's a whole world of vegetable fibre yarn out there, in a wide variety of colours, weights and sheens! I've reviewed a few of them below.
Bamboo Yarn
I loves me some bamboo. The pure bamboo yarn I used (from Be Sweet) was cool, soft and silky and had a beautiful drape. It has a natural sheen to it that looks like mercerized cotton. It's apparently naturally anti-bacterial as well, and is produced using environmentally friendly processes. Also - vegan friendly! The only issue I had with it was that it was a little "splitty" and I had to really pay attention if I was knitting with my sharper edged needles. I've heard that it swells quite a bit in water as well (I knit a scarf with it and didn't need to block it), so probably best not to knit anything with it that needs to be washed regularly (like socks).
Corn Yarn
I was really excited to try this Cornucopia (haha) corn yarn from Kollage. This particular yarn comes in a ribbon-like tube and is very nice and light - perfect for little summer doodads, like tanks tops or jackets for kids. I usually don't like the feel of ribbon yarn once it's knit up, but the Cornucopia was an exception to this rule - it was quite soft and had excellent stitch definition. Also, it says it's machine washable, but I didn't believe it until I tried it myself. I washed it in cold on a short cycle and was pleased to note that it didn't shrink, felt, or lose its luminous colour. Huzzah!
Hemp Yarn
My brother's an activist and a tree hugger, so I always get him something made out of hemp for Christmas or birthdays. It's lightweight, extremely strong and hearty and a renewable resource to boot! Hemp yarn isn't really new, but I was still excited to find it at my local yarn store. Most of the yarn I found comes in very "earthy" colours - oatmeal, light brown, dark brown. But I did find some brilliant blue and red as well.
I find the hemp yarn just a bit rough - maybe it was just the brand? (I've lost the ball band and can't remember the name) - and also a bit splitty. I ended up knitting it on bigger needles, to give it a nicer drape, as it's not particularly flexible. But it IS matte, which my manly brother enjoys, and also organic. I feel butch while knitting with it.
Soy Yarn
Like the corn yarn, soy yarn is a tubey-ribbony type yarn - when it's not mixed with other fibres like acrylic or wool. It has a nice sheen to it and is quite light. Because of the size of the ribbons, the soy yarn knit up more quickly than I was expecting - always a bonus! The hollow, airy tubes let a lot of air in, so it's perfect for warm weather wear. I did find that the colour bled a little when I washed it, but the swatch itself didn't seem any paler. It's a teensy bit rougher against the skin than the corn yarn, but not so much that my skin was irritated. I'm not sure what I would knit with it - the ribbon-y yarns can sometimes have a crafty look that aren't everyone's cup of tea - but I'm sure I'll find an artsy friend who'd appreciate a colourful, flamboyant little scarf.
I haven't tried banana yarn, but it's next on my list. If you have any other reinvented yarn suggestions (or comments on the yarns I've discussed above), leave me a note in the comments!
OK, I know that it is WAAAAAAAY too early to be thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, but I came across this great article about three chefs who were asked to reinvent the traditional cranberry sauce. Three interesting variations were presented (Kumquat Gewurztraminer Gelee, Cranberry, Orange, and Champagne Compote and Cranberry-Ginger Chutney), but of the three, my fav has to be the Kumquat Gewurtztraminer Gelee concocted by Jamie Stachowski of Restaurant Kolumbia in Washington, DC:
