Sunday, April 06, 2008

Keepin' da Knittaz challenged

As you may know, Lambs Ear Yarn is my local LYS (Local Yarn Shop) and the owner hosts a Knit Night every Thursday. I've been going regularly ever since I found out about it early last year. It really is the highlight of my week. I've met awesome women there; people who have become actual friends.

While everyone who comes knows how to knit, every one is at different skill levels and everyone has individual tastes, as to be expected. Many of the women are used to knitting with craft quality yarns, those acrylic or acrylic blends that you find at big chain stores like Jo-Ann's or Michaels. I'm not a yarn snob; I don't care if people want to use Caron's Simply Soft or Wool Ease Thick and Quick. I'm happy to see them knitting!

(I have to revise that. I am snobby against one particular brand of yarn--Red Heart Acrylic. This is the most basic of the craft yarns, and it is essentially spun plastic. It actually squeaks. It's the worst that yarn can be. It doesn't slide easily through the fingers, it's itchy, and it doesn't make a warm garment. The company has a print ad in knitting magazines of a young boy decked out in a hat, scarf, and mittens made from this yarn, having fun tossing snowballs. The ad headline reads "Somebody loves me!" and my thought is always "not very much". )

Many of the women come to Knit Night having used only craft quality yarns before finding Roxie's lovely LYS and I believe that each of them has eventually succumbed to the wonderful Cascade 220 (a 100% wool yarn that is both high quality and inexpensive, a perfect step for someone who wants to move beyond craft yarns).

Then there's me, always bringing in some "weird" yarn:
Yak.
Camel.
And now New Zealand Possum yarn.

I found the Possum yarn on etsy (of course). 3 ounces (about 75g) of handspun, merino/possum yarn and it is incredibly soft. Check out the pictures on the etsy site. Her pictures show the texture quite well, although the color is a much darker brown. Right now, the hank is airing to fluff up from being squished in the post, but I can hardly wait to use it. 3oz isn't a lot of yarn but enough to make a small object. I'm thinking fingerless gloves would do nicely.

1 comment:

jeanius said...

i love all your weird yarns! bring more! Then i can live vicariously through you :)