This superwash merino silk yarn is in Tourmaline, the October birthstone colourway from Expression Fiber Arts. I'm an October baby, and it caught me at a weak moment when I hadn't actually bought any new yarn on a whim for a while, so I ordered it for myself. (Since then, I've had several yarn-related whims so I'm back on a self-imposed yarn moratorium. At least for a while.)

When it arrived, I had to figure out what I wanted to do with it. This yarn has the most gorgeous soothing smooshy texture. While I finished up the baby hat and struggled with the momma hat, this skein actually sat on my night table. It was silly, but it didn't want to be in a drawer and I liked to be able to reach over and pet it. (I have never claimed to be normal.) And I contemplated patterns.

I thought it would be a great yarn for That Nice Stitch. I did a provisional cast-on so that the seam wouldn't show when finished.

But once I got it well started, I could see that it wouldn't work. The tourmaline was doing a self-striping sort of thing that fought with the pattern. Imagine wearing that as a cowl. It could cause seizures in the vulnerable. So I frogged it and went to something I knew would work just fine.

I previously made the Co-Pilot in Shimmer Silk, a yarn also by Expression Fiber Arts in the same fingering weight with a similar hand feel to the pearlescent. This time, I chose to make a single, much deeper loop. I cast on 120 stitches and knit 5 pattern repeats.

I like it! It's neat to see how very different the same yarn looks when knit using different stitches. A great reminder that not all yarns like all patterns and vice versa. Always fun to try new things – and sometimes fun to go with the tried and true as well.