After spending a week at the Greenpoint Post Office, my SYNO yarn made it home on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised to find I am knitting Interlocking Balloons for Kris!

She sent the nicest package.

I'll be knitting with this super fab alpaca silk blend yarn. Its very very soft. And check out those cute alpacas on the label! awwww

Of course, I had to cast on right away.

In addition to choosing an interesting pattern and rocking yarn, Kris also included some gifties! There's alpaca and silk tweed in my most favorite color. I am looking forward to trying them out. Thanks Kris!

Here we have two variations on a scarf.

Top: Size 5 (3.75mm) needles

Bottom: Size 4 (3.5mm) needles

Interlocking Balloons calls for a Size 6 (4mm) needle, which seemed large for this Alpaca silk. So I started with size 5s. And then I thought that even the 5s were creating a loose and drapey facric, so I tried it out on 4s for comparison. The 4s produced a bit tighter, but overall very similar fabric.

In the end, I decided that its the super soft nature of the yarn itself that causes this endless draping, and intervention on my part is a lost cause. Size 5 needles it is.

The Interlocking Balloons pattern (from Scarf Style) is pretty cool. It took a good repeat before I really got the hang of it. Now I only check the chart once in awhile to make sure its going alright. and its totally addicting! This is about halfway through the 6th repeat (9 repeats total).

Its going to need a good blocking to open up the pattern. Here's a close-up, pre-blocking.

I'm really into finishing things lately, so this may be done sooner rather than later...

Interlocking Balloons is done! This is the scarf I knit for Kris as part of the SYNO swap. Now, Kris is one of the hostesses for this swap, so I was extra careful to make sure my knitting was up to spec.

Specs:

Pattern: Interlocking Balloons by Shirley Paden from Scarf Style
Yarn: Baby Silk from Du Store Alpakka, 3.5 skeins
Gauge: Not sure exact gauge, but used Clover Bamboo, Size 5, 24" circular.

The balloon pattern is quite smart. The knit stitches are maintatined over the course of the pattern, but the number of purl stitches between them change, and that creates the balloons. After 1 repeat, I figured out what was going on, and after 2-3 repeats, I didn't have to check the chart at all. Its just complex enough to be interesting.

A good wet blocking is really needed to open up this pattern. I laid it flat to dry, and pulled the balloon edges out by hand, no pinning. The final post-blocking fabric is gorgeous and drapey. The silk content of this yarn gives the scarf a nice weight. and its sooo soft. I can just imagine Kris wearing it all winter.

It will be on its way back to Norway soon!