I was in Litet Nystan yesterday and encountered some Drops Fabel yarn, which is self-striping. There were a few knitted examples and I was hooked. I purchased some and immediately cast on a sock. Yes, it was useful that I happened to have a free pair of 2mm circulars in my bag, wasn’t it?

I’m not entirely sure I’ve got the gauge right. I haven’t been home long enough to actually measure, but it seems to look better when I hold the yarn more tightly rather than loosely. The yarn itself feels great in my hands. And I’m compulsively knitting because I want to see what happens!

This is what it’s supposed to look like (162 – blue sea):

Here’s my current version:

So… dunno if I’m doing it right, but it’s fun!

I’ve been fascinated by the idea of gradient sock yarn for quite a while now – I just haven’t been willing to cough up the money for the gorgeous stuff yet. Have you seen this stuff? It’s Sockit Fingering Sock Set – Epiphany gradient, hand-dyed 100% merino wool yarn, 2-ply 490 yds by AppleTreeKnits – at 100% wool, I’m not sure if it’s strong enough for actual sock wearing… but I’m not entirely sure I care, because it’s so pretty.

I can’t quite buy it for myself, but hopefully eventually I’ll buy it as a present for someone else. That means that it’s not for me and therefore the price doesn’t matter as much – right?

And today, while trying to find out more about gauge and self-striping yarn, I found this wonderful watermelon stuff, sold in Knitpurlgirl’s Etsy shop.

I want some, but it’s back-ordered by three weeks.  I think this is fate reminding me that while you can’t have too much yarn, there is only space for so much yarn in the monthly budget.

Ah, well. I can dream. 🙂