Blogging meme 26 Dec

[issenllo]

troisroyaumes suggested "knitting and your favourite yarns".

I came across knitting from a book - I'm of a solitary nature and one of those people that believe you can learn to do anything from reading books: cooking, sewing, jewellery making, drawing with varying levels of sucess - that I got from the library. I can't remember the title now, but it was focused on making shawls and scarves using either novelty yarns like eyelash yarns or popcorn yarns, or expensive yarn like silk. Later I found the Stitch n' Bitch Book which explained some things very well - like how to actually cast on and what was a knit stitch and what was a purl stitch - and some things very confusedly, like what d'you mean, bring the yarn forward. With the help of other books, I eventually figured it out and made a number of scarves, like any beginner.

I live in the tropics, so there isn't much use for scarves. You could make sweaters and cardigans, to ward off chilly air-conditioning, but buying the huge amount of yarn needed for one (at least 10 balls, depending on type) is a big decision so instead I did the somewhat penny wise, pound foolish thing of buying just one or two balls of a yarn that I liked, and either making gloves or or a shawl out of it. I got to enjoy the yarn that I liked without spending too much, though it does mean I end up with too many balls of yarn bought on impulse!

On the other hand, I'm sort of fortunate in that at the yarn shop I frequent, since it has some rather pricey yarn (more a matter of forex rates and limited distributorship rather than actual price), the merchandise moves slooowly. I can, and have proceeded to buy one or two balls of my favourite yarn in the colour I like every other month (or months), and am in the process of accumulating enough for a sweater (before you ask, yes, all of the same batch too).

Like many knitters I find that there's something relaxing about knitting, though it's frustrating too when it's too fiddly, like the start of a circular shawl. I'm too impatient about finishing something, then overcompensate because I know I'm impatient: the end product is usually two or three rounds longer than it should be. I knit a lot of lace, though it's annoying to keep referring to a chart, which is the way I prefer my knitting patterns. One of the things I particularly enjoy about knitting is that you can get magazines! On knitting! I'd never bought a magazine that wasn't TV Digest (or equivalent) before. And that you could get Japanese and Chinese knitting books/mags.


I have two favourite yarns, and they all have to do with my being a fibre snob. The first has unfortunately gone out of production: Rowan's Pure Silk DK yarn, which combines two of my favourite things about yarn: one, that it is silk, and two, that it is DK yarn. I've made a Niebling shawl that's on my Ravelry page (username = lloll4 ) and then half-designed, half-adapted a doily design to make two circular shawls from this yarn. (In doing so, used up my stash of this yarn. The yarn shop doesn't have any more left in stock. *sob*) It's lovely yarn: pretty, soft and with nice colours - and it sheds. A bit at the beginning, the more as you wear that shawl more and more.

My other favourite yarn is Sidar's Sublime, also a DK yarn (though it has fingering options) which combines cashmere, merino, silk (silk!) because it's not too expensive and functional. I have made about three pairs of gloves with this yarn. It's just squeeingly soft.

The internet does offer opportunities to buy nice yarn, but it's always a risk: I can't touch it, and touch is nearly the most important thing I look for in a yarn outside of fibre content. (Colour is another.) I like Colorsong's offerings, though it's not cheap and I have heard lots of rave reviews about Sundara's yarns (especially its silk yarns) whose prices are, frankly, insane. Ah, well, maybe when a pot of money falls from the sky.

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