A pattern-first yarn snob

In my complete boredom over the past month I have been hanging out a lot on the Ravelry boards and through  a couple of interesting threads have found out a little bit more about the kind of knitter that I am.

The first thread asked which came first, the pattern or the yarn (which means someone else has obviously been thinking about this too!).  At first I thought I would have been a yarn-first kinda chick, but after thinking about it, I decided the reverse is far more accurate.

In my fairly small, but seemingly huge, number of books and magazines dedicated to knitting I have what seems like hundreds of patterns that I want to knit. Combine this with all the patterns on Ravelry that I’ve favourited and tagged as inspiration, and I have a long list of patterns that will keep me busy loooong into the future. Obviously, my mind being the scatty, distractable type that it is, I can’t remember all of these patterns, so have taken to listing my most favourites in my knitting journal, along with the recommended yarn required. Whenever I embark on any possible stash enhancing mission I always bring my journal along, in the hopes of finding if not the exact yarn required for one of these projects, something that substitutes up pretty well.

Occasionally I find that the yarn (or intended pattern) is not suitable for that project after all, which is when it enters stash mode. However when it comes back out of stash mode, it almost always becomes something else that was in my pattern queue. Therefore, I decided, I must certainly be a pattern favouring type.

My second knitterly observation kind of came about through several different threads. On one thread we were discussing the possible misconception that knitting is a ‘cheap’ hobby (I think that knitting can still technically be cheap, but that might be another blog post). It was argued that, to make a sweater one could end up buying so much yarn that it works out the same to buy a store bought sweater. Which I think is true. I’m not sure I would have paid the same amount for a store bought sweater as I have for the yarn I purchased to make one of my current projects. But then came an argument from the depths of clarity! What we forget, is to compare like for like. Most store bought sweaters have a high content of acrylic, or are knit at an impossibly small gauge, making a super thin fabric. I, on the other hand, am making my jumper out of 100% DK baby alpaca! How many high street stores are gonna be selling that huh?! Which makes me think, I’m partly knitting what I do, because it’s something that I can’t get in a high street store.

Second, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I always seem to be knitting lace. Now to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen lace-weight acrylic yarn! What I do have though is lace-weight made out of silk/mohair, cashmere, an alpaca blend and even an organic Welsh wool. And I love them! I have tried to consider giving a skein (or 2) away to trade for something else and frankly, I just can’t do it. I’m playing for keeps. Given the option of trading my skein of plum cashmere for a sweater’s worth of bamboo yarn, I’d throw the bamboo out of my sight in an instant. That being said, I’m not completely against acrylic. It just seems to be things like polyester, angora  and, well, bamboo that I have issues with. I don’t know what my beef with bamboo yarn is to be honest, but nothing about it appeals to me. Polyester has too many links to fun fur (which I somehow accumulate a lot of considering I don’t buy it!) for me to forgive. I’m also wary of other man-made fibres because part of me is super paranoid about getting hot and sticky wearing them. Finally, I decided angora gets too much up my nose to want to work with again if I can help it.

So I guess that makes me a yarn snob. what it doesn’t make me however, is someone who is happy to pay ridiculous amounts of money for my yarn. I love the way Art Yarns Beaded Cashmere looks and feels but damned if I’m going to pay £30 for one teeny tiny skein! I just can’t justify spending that much on such little yardage.  It’s rude, quite frankly.

So there you are then. I’m a pattern-first yarn snob. Or perhaps that should be a cheap pattern-first yarn snob

Absence makes…everyone forget about you!

I know, I know. I’ve not written anything for ages. Would it help if I told you that I had been busy with the knitting?

I finally finished my Gran’s cape. Only about 2 weeks after when it was due

I’m not entirely sure I’m happy with it, on account of my yarn wasn’t as white as the one photographed for the pattern, but I imagine that they touched the photo up and had special lighting and everything when they took it.

I haven’t really been working on too much else to be honest, on account of being introduced (by accident!) to a series called the Wheel of Time. I’ve only read as far as book 3 (of a 12 book series) but have been engrossed the whole time! I’ve been trying to track own book 4 but I’ve not found it in my local bookstore, and applying to jobs right now kind of takes precedence. Yes I’m unemployed again, but with a mind to move onto something more engaging than my last position. But I mention the books because I can feel a strange need to design patterns based around ideas from the books.

My favourite character is Perrin and I’ve decided if I’m ever in an alternate universe set in the past, I’m heading straight for the nearest blacksmiths.

But back to my yarny crafts. Since last posting I’ve also spun a couple of hanks of yarn. I’ve only got a picture of the yarn I called ‘Stone Mountain’ on account of not having finished up the second yarn completely.

The colours reminded me of looking at a mountain from a distance, which is why it became Stone Mountain.

I’m really quite pleased with the way this came out. I got a new spindle and found it so much easier to work with than the one I originally purchased. My yarn is still a bit slubby, and it’s going to take a few more practices to consistently get any thinner than worsted weight but I’m much less reluctant about the idea of buying more fleecy goodness. I like the ‘plaits’ of yarn to work with the most so far I think.

Well that’s all there is to report for now. Hopefully I should be better at keeping this updated, what with being home before 8pm (if I even leave!) so hopefully I’ve not been too forgotten about.

See you next time!