Designer's note: Bamboo

There are those among us who are self described fibre snobs. They only use the natural, only the luxurious, only the expensive. I am not one of them. Perhaps it is my prairie roots but I have always valued the particle and predictable. I have and will continue to enjoy acrylic for years. My introduce to natural yarns has been slow. It has been mostly positive. My needles have lept through a small collection of natural yarns: wool, llama, alpaca, camel, mohair, angora, cotton, hemp, linen.
...but bamboo.
Well, bamboo...
Born and raised in Manitoba I did not encounter bamboo until Hubby and I moved into our first BC house. Then I found it lurking in my garden. Sticks growing out of the earth.
I reported these unusual encounters to my co-workers, "I ripped these sticks out of the earth and then before I turn around there they are again. Sticks growing out of the earth. No flowers. One or two leaves. But mostly sticks."
"Leanne," they said, "meet bamboo."
I was amazed. I thought bamboo only grew in Japanese movies. Clearly they had successfully immigrated to Canada - - happily growing in my garden -- I'm sure they are still there.
So in my mind bamboo was a weed.
That's why I was surprised to read -- in West Coast Knitter's News -- that bamboo was the latest craze in the knitting community. Paulette Lane wrote that
"Nothing else is added, it is 100% bamboo fibre."
"doesn't irate the skin"
"With...unparalleled micro-structure, bamboo fibre apparel can absorb and evaporate humans sweat in a split second."
Hubby and I exchanged a laugh. Knitting sticks with sticks? What would be next?
Then two Fridays ago I walked into one of my favourite independent yarn shops and found...

It called to me, "Leanne touch me."
So I did.
Then, "Leanne buy me."
So I did.
Then, "Leanne design with me."
So I am.
I will show you the results.