Some very nice yarns and very use-able yarns, a couple of balls of Loops and Threads Impeccable (Michael's Stores) which I really like for hats or scarves to give away, a couple of balls of a Patons chunky yarn also good for nice warm cowls, 3 balls of a orangy and white mohair/acrylic which I am thinking might be a nice shawl and 2 Noro Garden Silk that had price stickers on each of $21.99!
I spent a couple of days just looking at the yarns, thinking about them, wondering which to start on and what I might create with them.... I couldn't stand it any longer --- I had to figure out why a yarn -- even if it was mostly silk would cost $21.99 per ball... And really who would pay that much and then still have to spend the time making something with it? That makes it awfully expensive. I guess I just live in a more frugal, common world!
So I thought that I would play around with this "special" yarn.... I had actually considered listing these balls of yarn on my Etsy store, but sometimes when a diamond falls in your lap you just have to keep it for yourself...
First I got out my trusty crochet hook, and my big "The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs" and looked through it for a lacy but not too holey design. I started --- I did about 4 rows, I didn't like it. RIPPIT... Then I tried another simple crochet stitch, just half double crochet, I didn't like it, RIPPIT.... Then I thought, maybe it needs to be knitted... So after quite some time online, cuz I don't have a knitting book, I decided to do a sort of garter stitch rib variation, which was 7 rows stockinette then 3 rows stockinette the other way...
I kinda liked it and actually worked 30 rows, but there still was a problem... The needle was just a bit too large of a gauge -- it was the thinnest I had, tho so the stitches looked loose and fairly uneven... So yep, RIPPIT...
Oh and the thinness and smallness, I don't know what else to call it was making my hands ACHE! So that wasn't going to work.
I went to bed -- my brain seems to work all by itself while I sleep the night away! When I opened my eyes this morning, I knew what I was going to do.
Of course if I had paid $21.99 for each of these balls of yarn, I would never have done this. I doubled up the two skeins into one... It actually took me close to 2 hours to match the color run because as you can see in the photo above each ball of yarn started at a different point. I started with one ball, winding it on my thumb until I came to a point that fairly closely matched up with the other ball... Cut off the part from the first ball, and matched them and started winding and winding and winding. Oh and winding...
It worked out very well, except I did discover that one of the balls of yarn must have been partly used because there was a full two or three color changes left on the first ball of yarn that had nothing to match with on the second ball of yarn....
Now, I am happy with it as it stands. I still think I will go with knitting a garter stitch rib that I described earlier, but I have to go find a proper gauge knitting needle (s) to use -- Stay tuned for the concluding or continuing episode!
While I was writing this blog post, my husband was outside watering my container plants -- everything is in containers, because my whole yard is about as big as your living room... This morning there were a handful of ripe strawberries, he ate a few and brought some for me! I LOVE strawberries! So far, the strawberries, which are already eaten, were much more satisfying than $21.99 Noro yarn!
