Cashmere is the most amazing fibre but I rarely get a chance to knit with it. I start so many projects that I never finish, frogging the yarn and leaving it to languish in my stash. To do that to a precious hank of cashmere would be sacrilege.
I have come across 2 new yarns this season that I feel sure I would not want to put down until I had finished a project, in fact, I have already finished one!
Debbie Bliss has created a wonderfully soft yarn called Lhasa, a blend of Cashmere and Yak. It is has a chainette construction and is technically a chunky. Size 6mm needles are the recommended size and I did start off with that, but my Fair Isle was just too compact so I went up to a 7mm. The yarn is so beautifully squishy and is perfect for this little cowl that I rustled up. I used a two colour cast on and a two row, two colour cast off which you can find in Cap Sease’s book, Cast On, Bind Off.
Yarntelier is Louisa Harding’s new venture, a new cashmere yarn spun by one of the finest spinners in Yorkshire, in lace and DK weights. Due to its provenance this yarn is not cheap at £25 a ball, but for accessories it really is the most luxurious cashmere I have ever knitted with. I did buy one ball for a Christmas gift at The Knitting and Stitching Show, where it was launched so I have only knitted a little swatch for you to see here. You might think the yarn feels a little thin when you knit it but the bloom when you steam it is so satisfying.
Now all I have to wait for is some cold weather so I can snuggle in to my new cowl!
A Kingfisher Morning 
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