Habu at Ally Pally

On Thursday I went to Alexandra Palace in London (Ally Pally) for the Knitting and Stitching Show. I have heard so much about this wonderful yarn, and seen so many elegant garments and accessories made with it that I wanted to get my hands on some (more). I had read in blogland that last year, so many people bought Habu that there was very little choice by the Saturday. I decided I wasn't taking any chances and took the day off on Thursday (which is the first day of the show). The Habu stand was my first port of call.

It was extremely busy. Everyone was polite, and enthusiastic about Habu. At most other stalls people looked, stroked, mused, wandered away and possibly came back to purchase something later. At the Habu stall, whilst there was no pushing/shoving and everyone was super polite and helpful, people were there to buy. Takako was there together with another lady whose name I don't know. Both of them were extremely helpful. Takako advised me on a good colour combination for some aubergine/eggplant-coloured bamboo that I'd selected.

Anyhow, enough of the chat, here is a picture of my haul:

So what's in the picture?

A-148, 1/76.6 wool stainless steel in colour #599 (a kind of dark green/black with gold flecks), 75% wool & 25% stainless steel.

A-21, 1/20 silk stainless steel B in colour #4 (a light brown colour), 69% silk & 31% stainless steel.

A-177, 2/48 super fine merino in colour #45 (a cinnamon colour), 100% wool.

XS-45, 20/3 bamboo in colour #3 (an aubergine/eggplant colour), 100% bamboo.

A-64, 1/6.5 paper ring in colour #12 (a soft peachy/pink), 64% linen & 36% cotton (core).

arrived today

I´m happy my order from Habu Textiles arrived today, 20 days after my order.
You Pals already know the stuff, so just a short entry with some photos:

Kusha Kusha Kit with black silk stainless steel and coffee merino



Shippotail Kit with gray silk stainless steel and khaki and eggplant linen paper



2oz wool stainless steel in purple



and 2 skeins XS-45 Bamboo in green



I can´t decide what to start with...

"Kusha" Shawl

I bought some Habu spiral slub at Stitches East last year and had no idea what I'd do with this green thread of a yarn flecked with tiny pink fuzzy stuff.

So when I saw all the Kusha Kusha scarves and shawls out there, I knew I wanted to knit this thread with wool stainless steel yarn to make a shawl like this one.

I'm knitting it on US 6 Addi Lace Turbos and I can feel the stainless steel ominously scraping against the metal of the needles, but I really need those sharp points to easily pick up the stitches. The first few rows looked like this:

The pink slubbies are more subtle in natural light and now it looks like this:

It is fun to shape and form it and mesmerizing to knit. I can't imagine that it will be in the least bit warm, but will be a nice and unusual accessory.