Cables!

I present to you my first hand-knitted cable! I have always loved them, and got quite good at making them with the Bond knitting machine (what seems like a lifetime ago), but never learned how to do it by hand. Victory is sweet.

Alas, sour must combine with sweet for us to truly appreciate the irony of the universe. I had my most disappointing yarn experience to date. This headband is made with Debbie Mumm Traditions yarn from Joann fabrics. I saw it in the store and fell in love. I dropped the 3 skeins of Patons SWS I've been wanting for-ev-er and picked up this stuff because it was so beautiful and even softer than I could imagine. It was a wool acrylic blend, and I didn't think much about how the yarn was constructed still awe-struck by the pretty, shiny colors.
It looks just like any of the wonderful wool singles I have worked with in the past (Rio de la Plata, Malabrigo, Noro, etc). I eagerly photographed and added the beauties to my Ravelry stash. It was then that I saw the comments, most along the lines of, "I will never use this yarn again", "this yarn is awful", "I would rather stick my tongue to a freezing helicopter rotor than work with this shite" and so on. I was a little sad, but thought surely they must be mistaken. How could this beautiful stuff be so offensive?

Ugh. I'll take the helicopter, because this was an absolute nightmare to work with. The colored acrylic strands are loosely wound about a black or white core. All the time you work, the outer layer of acrylic "fibre" is slipping and sliding, twisting and turning, and basically being an ass. It's a lot like working with Lion Brand Homespun if it wasn't plied for coherence. Gag. I am going to try and return the 2 skeins pictured above and get the SWS.