Hazel Knits dk Lively

 Part of our order from Hazel Knits arrived last week.  I was most excited about their dk weight yarn, a relatively new weight for them.  It's called DK Lively, but it really should be called "DK Lovely"  This is one gorgeous yarn - nice and round with a great spin.  It's plied and has a perfect twist - not too much, not too little - like Baby Bear's porridge, it's just right.  It has a terrific hand - smooth and elastic without feeling overly stretchy.

Then there are the colors.  Wendee, owner of Hazel Knits, really gets color.  She manages to get colors that are at once brilliant and sophisticated.  There is nothing garish or clownish about Hazel Knits colors. She is truly and artist - and a really nice person too.

I was in love with this yarn just from the feel and look of it in the skein, but you know we like to put the yarn through its paces.  Jenny and Lynne have both swatched it, and they agree that it more than hits the mark.  Jenny has chosen it for her Vodka Lemonade knit along coming up in a couple of weeks.  Lynne did a nice generous swatch on several needle sizes and in several stitch patterns and then washed it in the washing machine and ran it through the dryer.

DK Lively swatch machine washed and dried

In her email about the swatch, Lynne said, "What you can't tell just from the photo is that after wash and dry, the fabric feels like VELVET!!  Swatch sections at 5 st/inch and 5.5 st/inch. No shrinkage, no change in gauge. Just lovely bloom from the fiber.  Based on post-wash feel, I suspect that this yarn would work at 4.5 and at 6 as well, depending on the project."  

I mentioned that it might make a nice Swirl Coat, and she said, that "nice" would be a cosmic understatement! 

A swirl in the DK Lively would take between 6 and 8 skeins, depending on which style and which size you choose.  It would be a little pricey, but so worth it.  I think it's calling me.