Thoughts about yarn

Yarn is like wine or cheese. One advantage of ordering a bespoke item is that you can choose yarn, even quite reasonably priced yarn, which is of much higher quality than yarn used for ready-made items in all but the most expensive shops and catalogs. Something made from a good wool, cotton or linen yarn will last for decades.

Ideally, you want to feel your yarn, as well as see it. Most people see color, first, but texture is equally important to your enjoyment of a knitted thing. Fibers geeks like me can go on forever about the varying benefits of fiber, construction, and dye. Soft is not the only virtue! A Christmas stocking, for instance, should be knit from yarn that is sturdy enough to take poking and pulling, and which will last for decades.

A trip to a local yarn shop can be an adventure. Go and talk to the people who work there; they love questions and can steer you to the best yarn for your purpose. If you live in the Madison, WI area, I would be happy to meet you in one our fantastic array of yarn shops.

I am a regular at The Sow’s Ear, in Verona, WI; I knit them a mini-sweater to celebrate their 21^st anniversary.