Scout: A ‘Yarn For the Sake of Yarn’
My Sister Kits just received a shipment of Kelbourne Woolens DK weight Scout! Talk about a squishy yarn!
Scout is from the fleece of Highland sheep in the Peruvian highlands, a cross between Merino and Corriedale. The Corriedale adds strength and durability to the soft Merino. This yarn is not fussy. You don’t need to be careful with it. It lends itself to textures, cables, even colorwork. It is, as the founders of Kelbourne Woolens say, “yarn for the sake of yarn”.
Scout is a subtly heathered yarn. Multiple colors are blended before spinning to create colorways with depth. It’s so interesting to compare the colorful yarns before they’re spun with the color of the finished product!
Scout works well at gauges of 20 and 22 stitches per 4 inches. This is helpful for finding a pattern. You can go to Ravelry, choose Advanced Pattern Search, scroll down the boxes on the left of the page until you find More Search Options. Choose Gauge (4in) and enter the numbers 20 and 22 in the box. You’ll find 2,084 pages of patterns!
Again, go over to the boxes on the left and restrict your search results. What is it you want to make? Do you want a pattern that’s a Ravelry download? Do you want a free one? Choose DK in the Weight box. Entering these filter criteria will give you a manageable number of pattern choices. You can play with other filters and narrow your search further. Give yourself plenty of time to do this as it doesn’t work well if you’re in a hurry!
If you want to see what people are making with Scout, go to the Yarns tab and enter Kelbourne Woolens Scout in the Search Yarns box. When you get to the Scout page, you’ll see several tabs across the top. You can look at both Pattern Ideas and Projects to see what people have made. So many ideas!
Kate and Courtney, the founders of Kelbourne Woolens, are down-to-earth, joyful women. I met them before they became Kelbourne Woolens, took several classes from them at Interweave Yarn Fest one year, and have seen them off and on over the years. I learned so much and had so much fun listening to them banter back and forth that I’ve always had a soft spot for them and their yarn.
Join us in having a Show and Tell with Scout! On Saturday, Feb. 24, bring your Scout project and we’ll see what everyone is making! Not to worry, it doesn’t need to be finished. Let’s just have fun with it! Come at 3:00 and we’ll have a party!
In the meantime, come into the shop, choose your favorite heathered colorway, and cast on!
Happy knitting,
