A Tale Of Two Yarns

It's funny that the first topic of Knit and Crochet week is about yarn when I just wrote about yarn manifesting it's own destiny just a few days ago.

So let me wax poetic again about how much I love that particular yarn, Lion Brand Amazing. It totally is amazing! Ok, so it isn't the most precious yarn in the world, but for a half wool/half synthetic yarn sold at Michaels, it's pretty awesome. It's really soft (unless you don't like wool or are allergic to wool, in which case I'm sorry you have to miss out) and the color-ways are sooo pretty! I've made two projects with it now: Whisper Crystal Case and Flower of Life Tam and I love the end result of both. Sadly both projects are lacking pictures :( I really can't wait until I have a reliable method to get pictures off my camera and uploaded online.* Both of them are done it Wildflower, but I love the look of the other colors too. Definitely something I'd go buy a basket full of if I had any money at the moment.

Not so much love for the sea-foam green mohair that I originally tried to knit Wisp out of. I did discover where it was hiding and plan to tackle the pattern one more time but maybe with a few changes in order to keep my sanity lest it go bad again.

Also not so much for Lion Suede. Same company that made Amazing, total disaster. I tried to knit a little pouch to hold my stuff when I go to the Renaissance Faire (an almost annual occupation - whee alliteration). But the thing did not want to be a pouch. The yarn did not want to be anything! It was a bear to knit with and a bitch to rip out. I recovered that one too from it's hiding place and I'm giving it one more chance before I donate it. It's the suede's fault that I had my first "UGH!" project on Ravelry. I have since deleted said project from my page because I'm picky like that and only want positive energy, so anything with a big "UGH!" on it had to go. But I'm fair minded, so one last chance for it to shape up and make something nice for me. I had bought it on a whim because I thought it felt soft, but it does have an odd texture once you really start paying attention. Soft, yes, but somehow sticky and squeaky even after it's been knit up. I think if I actually finished a project, it'd be ok, hence my reluctant willingness to give it another go.

I know most people writing for blog week will probably be extolling the virtues of Malabrigo or Kidsilk Haze or other legendary names that I know as a knitter, but have not had the luxury to work with. Ahh, being a broke knitter sometimes really sucks. But at least if I'm finding such joy in the stuff I can find at Michaels, I know my joy factor will only go up exponentially once I can afford more quality yarns. Or learn to spin!

*I can get pictures online, but it requires a Mac computer since those are the only computers that will automatically recognize my camera without installing drivers - something I can't do on the PC's I have access too because it's a big pain the butt and none of said PC's are actually mine. Luckily my best friend, who's apartment I am at all the time anyway, just bought a Mac, so hopefully more pictures more regularly. Soonish.