hi there, I've kusha'd

thanks for the invite Olga. :)

like so many of you, my first habu textiles kit was the kush kusha scarf:




yarns: silk stainless A-20/21 1/20 in gray (color 3), and super fine merino A-177 in charcoal (color 97).

:while i did in fact knit all of the rows as stated, i used both right handed and left handed knitting in the steel + wool part, and only right handed knitting in the steel only part. this resulted in a far longer steel + wool section than the pattern intended, while the steel only portion was the correct size.

:it stopped being a process knit for me about half way through the steel only portion, and became all about the finished object; which i really like.

this is actually the third piece that i've made with habu yarns. my first was a misty garden scarf out of mohair tam, and the second was a 'Wisp' made out of silk/mohair kusa that i overdyed.

you can see my stash of habu textiles yarns here, if you like.

cheers,
danielle

Another Trip to Habu

So, all of the beautiful things I've been seeing on this blog and the Flickr page all became too much for me, and I had to make Veronique accompany me to the store for some enabling. That's what friends are for, right? I fully intended to get just one thing, a Kusha Kusha kit, which I had called about in advance so it would be ready when I got there:Black Stainless Steel and Terracotta Merino. I can't wait to get started on it!!!
But as usual, there were way too many things there that caught my eye. There was this lovely stuff:Now, I have used Habu's cashmere (2/26, I buy the single strand and hold it doubled, knit on size 1's) in the past, and it's one of those that doesn't feel soft at all till you wash it. And then, oh then, it is luscious. The perfect thing for soft little mittens and gloves....I'm thinking about this combo (the yellow-green is leftover from the Anemoi Mittens) for some very special fingerless gloves....
And then there was this!Bamboo (20/18) in Slate (color 4). Seriously, who could resist? Not I!
I got 5 skeins of it, which will hopefully be enough for a slim little cardi, we'll see. I had to cast on right away:and I am loving every minute of it.
Cross-posted at Yarnmonster.

Janet's Kusha/Kushu Scarf

I've finally started my own Kusha/Kushu after enabling a handful of others by posting tempting photos of spools of silky steel and merino. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy knitting this wispy steel/merino scarf. For a while now, I've had the desire to knit with unusual, unique fibers and Habu fills that desire nicely. A scarf like this is a great introduction to the creative genius that is Setsuko Torii. I first fell in love with the Habu aesthetic and enthusiasm the first time I visited their site a few years ago.

It's interesting to me that so many knitters ask . . . why? Why Habu?

The answer is on their site:

Why? do we bother to take so much time and labor... actually
weaving or knitting fabrics when there are so many
high quality machine woven fabrics. They are durable,
good looking, inexpensive... Why?

Because we must stubbornly believe
all the care our actual hands give to each and every process
of making a length of fabric creates something more
than just a good look. It may be so subtle, but you know when
you wear and touch. You know when that fabric ages with you,
and you look at it twenty years from now.

We believe the same with yarns. They are the soul of fabrics.
Without ones made with good care, the fabrics will not live long.
We would like to offer you the best and unusual yarns
imported from Japan, rarely available in this country.
It took us many trips and years to cultivate the relationships with
the suppliers and discover the yarns. You do not have to do that.
They are here! There are over 450 selections and they include
raw silks from 14 denier, hamp bark, bamboo, hand-tied ramies,
cashmere with almost no twist, naturally gold silks,
handspun silks/cottons, silk stainless steel, fine silver, etc...

When somebody doesn't understand, it's truly impossible to answer . . . why? As for me, it's a connection to my past -- to another knitter:

I think she would understand.

Habu Haiku

Light gossamer strands
of architectural air
feel so substancial.

So, this is my first experience with Habu. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. I'm doing a kinda-sorta-kusha kusha scarf using the silk stainless and extra fine merino. I plan to have a bit of the silk stainless by itself on both ends of the scarf, not just on one end the way the pattern suggests. The thread...er, yarn...was so fine that it took me awhile to adjust. Several stitches cascaded off the needle a few times, and it was a bit of a challenge to recover lost stitches. But once I got used to these fibers...wow! They're so fun! I keep wanting to play with the scarf instead of knitting on with it. And I know that once it's felted, it'll be even more irresistable.

This is obviously not going to be a warm scarf, which is good, since I've recently moved to a warmer climate. It'll be more of an early spring accessory, I think, so I chose springy colors. The silk stainless is #1, white, and the merino is #40, a grassy green.

SoKnitpicky