Playing about with crochet jewellery

What do you do with those oddments of yarn, the 10 or 20g balls left over from projects?

I know of some sock knitters making blanket squares but I use all sorts of weights of yarn so that won't work. 

On the other hand I've been saying for ages that I should refresh my crochet skills so the 4ply and the laceweight remnants are forming a plan to play about with embellishments, brooches etc.

Having just made a pair of lace gauntlets for a friend, I've had my first go with the remaining yarn - a Irish rose and button brooch.

Hello Possum!

I'm now working on the third of my 11in11 project to knit 11 shawls or wraps from my stash and have pulled an interesting yarn from the cupboard - Cherry Tree Hill possum sock.

This hand painted 4ply yarn from Vermont in the US  contains 80% merino and 20% possum - yes, 20% Australian possum fur.

The effect is a soft yarn that in some ways reminds me of alpaca but with less fluff at you work.Also the merino givesit a bit more body.

Overall very pleasant to work with and I'm liking how the colours blend over the first 50 rows of the wrap.

I'm not sure if it is available in the UK because I found my four skeins in a yarn swap in aid of MSF p/hop.

I'm using it for a version of the Dropleaf Wrap by Miriam L. Felton.

Meanwhile having been to Australia, I was sure I had pictures of possums but I took more than 1,ooo pictures and it seems not all are labelled, so the picture below may or may not be a possum. 

But it is  definitely Australian and definitely cute!

Missing the boat - a retrospective yarn review

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone

Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell

Last year in one yarn sale or another I acquired 500g of Rowan Yarns Classic  Silk Wool DK in a deep russet color. Perfect as it turned out to make Belinda Boaden's  Carmine - which recommends Fyberspates Scrumptious (which happens to have a similar make up and yardage as the RYC ).

I'm about half way through this textured top down raglan and loving yarn. It is soft with a slight bounce, has good definitition for cables etc and a slight sheen from the silk. I think it will produce a warm jumper without being too bulky.

 

Obviously a yarn I'd want more of - except today to my horror I realised it has been discontinued.

Excuse me while I scour the internet while humming Joni Mitchell.