Oh! Behave!

I would like to apologize for the lack of post yesterday. Powers beyond my control prevented me from accessing the Internet. All day long I tried to no avail. Frustrating? Yup!
So a day late I present: "Oh! Behave!"
One of the sweaters currently on my needles combines these two yarns...
a mohair/wool blend and a wool.
Combining yarns is tricky and caution should be used.
Why?
Well, simply because when combined there is no way of knowing how they will behave.
Unless of course you do this...
work two sample swatches. Then wash one swatch (the way you intend to wash the sweater: hand wash) and measured the results against the unwashed swatch. From this we learn that the washed sweater will shrink a half an inch. It is wise to keep this fact in mind when calculating the number of stitches required to work the sweater.

Good news on the alpaca front. Searching my stash revealed a alpaca/acrylic blend. I am planning to combine the blend with the alpaca in hopes that it will be "Behave" better. I will work a sample swatch to make sure.

Next post: A quick peek at a new design

Next tip post: while you knit - memory clues

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