Yarn Along: yakapaca

I'm reading Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting, edited by Ann Hood, and steadily working away on Lucy's raspberry cardigan.

Inspired by my sister, I cast on an Audrey hat as part of the Fringe Hatalong.  I'm using a sumptuous tweed yarn I obtained at the CNY Fiber Festival a couple of years ago.  It's a blend of alpaca, yak, and sari silk, aptly called yakapaca.  I've been saving this yarn for something truly special, when I really ought to just enjoy it now.  I started the hat on our anniversary, which makes it all the more festive.  I want to be sure the yarn won't melt into a puddle, as alpaca is wont to do, so I knit the ribbing on size 4 needles, at a painfully tight gauge.

Unfortunately, the beautiful chevron pattern that truly makes this hat special does not show up in this buttery yarn, so I frogged back and am just knitting the body of the hat in plain stockinette.  There is a small chance I will ultimately decide this yarn would be better suited to a different pattern after all, but at least I was brave enough to crack into a prized skein and just start knitting away!