Spotlight: Elann Incense

I've been contributing swatches to the Walker Treasury Project for a couple of months now and in my first enthusiasm even ordered a few single skeins from Elann that I'd been meaning to try for a long time, but never really had any idea what to make out of them. The WTP gave me the perfect excuse to go and buy those in colours I wouldn't normally buy and simply swatch.

If you haven't heard of the WTP yet; it's basically a project to swatch all the stitch patterns from Barabara Walker's Treasuries in modern yarn and post colour pictures of them. The pictures in the books are all black and white and pretty small, so it's fascinating to see them in bigger pictures. There are pretty detailed rules about how to post the pictures, so that the blog is an easy to use and useful resource for knitters, but everybody is welcome to contribute.

Anyway, since I'm now trying out all these new-to-me yarns, I thought it'd be a good idea to keep a log of what knitting with them was like, so I'd also have a resource to go back to when I go searching for a yarn.


09 - Persian Violet

Specs
Yarn: Elann Incense
Fibre Content: 50% Wool/ 25% Silk/ 25% Bamboo
Gauge: 19 st/4 inches 4.5 mm (US 7)
Weight: Worsted
Yardage: 105 m (114 yards)
Size: 50g (1.75 oz) ball
Price: $3.98 USD

First Impression
Doesn't look or feel that much different to normal wool. Slightly shinier. Very crisp. Next to skin soft.

Knitting
This is were the beauty of the yarn really comes out. Great stitch definition. The wool mixed in with the silk and bamboo makes this very easy to knit with and I had no problems at all with hurting hands as I sometimes have with the less elastic yarns.

In my second swatch (German Herringbone Rib), the limits of this elasticity became aparent, however. I had some problems with the make ones since the running thread didn't have enough give to make this an easy stitch. On the other hand, it made sure that the make ones before the knits were completely invisble, and even those before the purls disappeared in the reverse stockinette. So maybe not the right yarn for patterns with lots of stitch manipulations beyond the basic increases and decreases.

At the same time the yarn is very strong. I tried pulling it apart at the end of the swatch and couldn't; I had to cut it. My first impression of it seeming just like regular wool is reflected in the way it behaves while knitting. But at the same time it has something more. The resulting fabric (before blocking) is slightly slinky, with very even stitches and a slight sheen that gives the yarn a lot of depth.

One small negative point is that I had several instances where bits of unspun yarn (sometimes of different colours) clung to the yarn. But they could be removed pretty easily and without damaging the yarn at all.

Swatches

Flame Chevron


German Herringbone Rib

Knitted Up
Stitch definition stays crsip after blocking. Also blocks well, no pilling so far. Very drapey, but doesn't seem like it would stretch over time. Light. Works for lace and textured patterns. I bet cables would look great in this yarn.
Potential pattern for me in this yarn: Bonsai Tunic

Knitability Factor