Knitting & Crochet Blog Week: A Tale of Two Yarns

SHOOT! I had these posts all set up and ready to go, but for some reason they were stuck in "draft" mode, and didn't publish this week... Well... Better late than never, right?
 

PROMPT: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Yarn 1: Indiecita Baby Alpaca

First I should say that I don't believe there's such a thing as a bad yarn. Except acrylic yarns. Blegh. So, when I say that I really hated working with this baby alpaca, it's mostly because I got it when I was really still learning how to knit. I pretty much only worked in stockinette and simple ribs. I didn't know jack about drape. But this yarn was pretty much hell for a beginning knitter. It split on my needles. It didn't frog well at all. and when I finally got a finished project out of it, it was far too droopy. Now, I hope I know better than to try to make a 3x1 rib cowl out of fingering weight alpaca. But still. I struggled to get anything off the needles with this yarn.

Yarn 2: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino

I think I really love this merino for similar reasons. To be fair, I've worked with it a lot, and so I know its properties like the back of my hand. Merino is one of the most forgiving fibers I've ever worked with, and it's not so hard on the fingers (like cotton--ouch!). The project of these mitts was the first time I felt really, truly competent as a knitter. The floated stitches were a knew skill, but I managed them without much trouble. The yarn's variegations worked out pretty much exactly as I expected and hoped. My stitches were even and controlled. I felt good working with this yarn. There are plenty of other factors that contributed to that, to be sure, but still. Good memories. I love this yarn. It also comes in some amazing colors, and I can't stop myself from buying it whenever I see it.

I'm going to cheat and add a third yarn.

Yarn 3: handspun

I've never knit with a handspun. I'm really dying to. The colors are so incredible, especially in plied yarns. I want to play with them all and see how they work themselves out. Okay. I'm going to stop drooling now.

2KCBWDAY1