Last night I began knitting a hat for my son in an acrylic yarn. I continued on it today while I sat in a meeting and I will continue it tonight while I watch a movie.
A local yarn shop talked me into using acrylic for hats for kids as the shopkeeper said the kids never appreciate handmade stuff and it gets wrecked.
I don't want to sound like a yarn snob but I am really NOT enjoying this.
The yarn is splitting, meaning that when I move the needles I accidentially split the yarn. I have to remove the needle and restart. The yarn is so inflexibile that it is so much different than wool yarn to work with. I find it stiff and hard to hold. Also for some reason it is slipping all over my bamboo needles and I am having a hard time holding the stitches in place to prevent it from twisting.
I am bound and determined to finish this hat. I'm not enjoying this experience.
I also realized the other day while finishing hat #5 (yet to be photographed, sorry), that part of what I enjoy about knitting is the yarn. I like holding it and I like seeing it as I work with it. I love the Noro variagated yarns as the different colors are spun together in a way that no two strands are the same. I enjoy seeing the colors change. Also that Noro Kochoran which has wool, silk and angora was so soft in my hands it was lovely to work with.
Wish me luck while I hopefully finish this acrylic hat tonight.
Today I visited a local yarn shop that I'd not been in before, "A Stitch in Time" in Bethel Connecticut. I was looking for double pointed needles in size 2.5 but they don't sell them there. I am considering learning to knit with the magic loop or doing two socks at once. I don't know what to do. In the mean time I guess I'll keep knitting hats.
I am looking forward to tomorrow when I will be going to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinbeck New York with a friend. We are each bringing our younger sons along so the kids can pal around together while their moms shop for yarn.
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A yarn store owner said that?!! OMGosh! I respectfully but wholeheartedly disagree.
My kids don't always appreciate veggies either, but that doesn't mean I feed them junk food every night. They deserve quality in their lives and I care enough to provide it. Besides, if I'm going to put the effort into making them something, I want it to be something worth my while and enjoyable for *me* along the way!
Besides, acrylic is plastic. Not nearly as warm as wool. Once it's wet, like if worn by a kid in, um, snow, it has little to no insulating properties. Wool still holds warmth, even when wet. It's also a million times more pleasant to knit with, as you've discovered. Acrylic has its place in the yarn world and there are some good reasons for choosing it for certain projects, but I don't think they apply in this case.
I would not be heartbroken if my kids lost a hat I knit for them; I'd just knit another one. As a matter of fact, I knit extras anyway, just because they're relatively quick and fun and a good way to try a new technique or use a single skein of nice yarn. I don't expect my knitting to be placed on a pedestal, least of all by my kids. IMO, the highest honor would be for them to use it up, wear it out, and ask for more! But if they happen to lose a hat along the way, that's just another reason to try another of the bazillion fantastic hat patterns that are out there just waiting for me to enjoy them.
Get ye to Rhinebeck for some excellent real wool, so you can enjoy every step of this process! You're in for a mind-boggling day tomorrow. Enjoy!
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