Wednesday, May 18, 2011

B is for Buttah

My sis started along on a ABC knitting blogathon started by the accidental knitter
I am such a copy cat so i had to join in ; P
So here goes post B (i might try to squeeze A in but i'm not promising anything cause i'm often a lam-o.)


YARN! I LOVE YARN! I LOVE FIBER!!!!
That has to be yelled - loudly while dancing around!
This is my sister's fault; Totally; 100%
Did i mention I'm a copy cat? I saw Dianne knitting a lace shawl (she never finished that one because it wasnt working out for her) I only saw the beginnings of this black cobweb alpaca yarn. it was absolutely divine - delicate, light as air, ephereal, soooo soft. She had told me she knit with wool and i thought "yah!!! craaaazy! i hate scratchy wool" and my sis who is even more sensitive in the skin dept than i am and had always had an aversion to wool as well??? what had gotten in to her? Well, she took me to a yarn store in Murfreesboro and said feel this. and this. and this. Oh. I get it! wool and other natural fibers are not scratchy if you know what to look for. It can be. But it can also be absolutely heavenly, SOFT AS BUTTAH!!!!!!!!!!!
I was hooked from then on.
My yarn collection has grown a lot since then. it no longer comprises only 100% acrylics.
I mostly order on line because there's not a huge selection here and i am sometimes disappointed. But my skills at choosing yarns are getting better and i listen to what others have to say about it to see what to try next.
A few years ago, i ordered a lopi for a blanket. that is NOT buttah. It is ...well, scratchy! but after my deception subsided and i CO, i began to enjoy the rusticity of it; I will line it with some polar or flannel when i finish (i've been working on this thing for almost 3 years and dont know if iever will finish) because i dont think having that on yuor lap when you cuddle is highly desirable but the knitting of it is actually pleasurable.
Sliding into a love of wool with merinos opened the door for explorations of all qualities of wool and wool blends. I appreciate all different types but i just cant live without buttah.

3 comments:

Charly Harries said...

Haha, 'soft as BUTTAH', I have to remember that line. Thank you. I knit with 100% acrylic, and I'm sure when I feel wool for the first time I'll become a total yarn snob!

Thanks for taking part :D

Rebecca said...

oh man! you're in for a treat. i still use acrylics for some things - every fiber has its place, but oh.... the wool!
and thank you for visiting my blog! :"D

Emma (GirlAnachronismE) said...

I love it! Just a tip, scratchy wool can become so soft when washed with fabric softener, and if you want it even softer, you can use hair conditioner! I'm planning on doing that with some scratch acrylic.