My Kind Of March Madness

I originally had no intention of committing to any more deadlines, since lately I'm finding them little more than a recipe for failure. Grand plans. Not keeping up. The usual blah-blah. So why in heaven's name did I let friend Rachel persuade me to hop onto another Ravelry knit-along (KAL) bandwagon? This time, it's all about the Malabrigo, baby (Ravelry link).

The Malabrigo Junkies are sponsoring a half-dozen or so KALs, including Knitty's Foliage hat. Since Foliage and I are already acquainted, I expect to comfortably meet the end of March completion date. See? I've already finished one repeat of the leaf pattern past the crown.

Malabrigo, "Velvet Grapes" (cat hair at no extra charge)

Could I stop there? No, apparently not. When I saw the Agatha shawl on Wendy Knits, I knew I had the perfect candidate for the job: Malabrigo's latest offering, Silky Merino.

At first blush, there appears to be more of silk than merino to this yarn, in both the touch and the halo sheen so characteristic to that fiber. The label says 50-50 but it seems to me that the wool serves more as a supporting player. This stuff is smooth, affordable luxury and is available in both solid and variegated colors.

I didn't even know about Silky Merino until I stumbled across it while checking out Manos' silk blends in a nearly identical weight and yardage. I know both companies have their proponents. Anyone who has touched either or both care to weigh in?