31 January 2014

The Perfect Yarn

You'll recall my determination to knit Arrowhead and to find the perfect yarn to do so? It was at Eweknit that I found it.
I walked in on the cold Sunday after Christmas and told Caroline that I was looking for a sock weight in a tonal at about 400 yards. I said that after their sale discount, I wanted it to come in at under twenty bucks. I was hovering around another brand at the time.
"Have you seen our Madeline Tosh light fingering?", she asked, magically directing me to another corner.
Shortly thereafter I found myself vacillating between a blue/gray and a taupe-ish gray. Then I saw the label. Dr. Zhivago's Sky was the name of the blue/gray. I, with my love for all poets Russian, held the last remaining skein of a yarn named after Pasternak! Well of course I bought it.
It's a single so I don't know how well it holds up. It sure does make nice round and plump stitches though. The gentle saturation of the dye also means great highlights in those textured stitches but without the harsh contrast of variegation that so often obliterates fine stitch work.
Yarn choice really does matter. As I learned when  I was a  less experienced knitter:  Just because you think the yarn is attractive doesn't mean you should make that particular project with it.

No comments: