Bag of Knowledge - Blog 3
Q3 – What draws
you to a particular yarn that makes it a “have to have”?
The fibre content first of all. Colour second (I LOVE
variegated yarns). I don’t even look at acrylic yarn, but oh boy, the natural
fibres! Merino, alpaca, baby camel, silk, bamboo, yak, cashmere and the list
goes on. I have such beautiful (and damn) expensive yarn in my stash; I
frequently day-dream about a life where I will have time to work them all into
something breathtakingly beautiful, and I just can’t seem to reach that stage
of my life where things will finally slow down. This decade is fast drawing to
a close and I am contemplating some life-changing decisions that will allow me
more time to play with beautiful yarn.
That is a tough one. I think most of the times it is the
look. I absolutely LOVE Yama yarn, just for the way it is dyed, meaning
how the overall appearance is. And when I started crafting, just getting
to know the yarn and crochet community, I fell in love with Scheepjes
Stonewashed XL. It was then, in my opinion, the ultimate to work
with. Even though it is an acrylic blend, it is still a yarn I will work
with, occasionally. I also developed a love for natural fibres, and apart
from the Scheepjes, you will only find natural fibres in my stash. Oh, and
before I forget, it must have something pink in it, or must work with other
pink yarn, as I am an absolute pink freak.
I'm
especially drawn to beautifully hand-dyed yarns: mostly burgundy, greys, blues,
turquoise or pastels, preferably tonal or subtly variegated. Fibre content
should be real wool or a wool blend with other natural fibres. I have to
enjoy knitting or crocheting with it as well!
My go-to yarn for knitting shawls is sock yarn (100% merino), I
love the way it knits up, it has great stitch definition and you can determine
the drape of the knitted fabric by changing the needle size recommended on the
yarn label. And of course, the COLOUR determines the "have to
have" factor. I love colours that blend into each other like a solid
colour with a variegated or speckled yarn. My favourite colours
are blues, purples, earthy tones and of course anything red!
I am a big sucker for hand-dyed natural fibres, especially if it’s
merino (I think I might be a yarn snob
) Add some greens, mustards or any
autumn colours to the mix, and I can hear that skein calling my name
I
am quite patriotic and we are very fortunate to have some seriously talented
Indie-dyers in our South African yarn community who produce the most beautiful
dyed yarn, so locally produced and indie dyed plays a big role in my yarn
purchase as well.
≈ Nicole Barkhuizen, the creator behind Oumaz, as well
as The Crafters Diary. You can find her on Instagram or Ravelry
First, the colour is
what would initially draw my attention, then what type it is and the feel! I
love cotton and naturals yarns!
No. 1, colour, colour
and more colour!! I love colour and I love putting colours together so that
draws me first, no. 2 is the weight, I adore lace and would always look at the
lace weights first before any other weight, I only buy thicker yarn for
specific projects, and no. 3 is fibre, I ONLY buy natural fibres, I would
rather go without than having to buy man-made yarn.
≈ Surene Palvie, the photographer behind Nova Photography
and amazing colour collaborator and
crafter
Once I discovered the wonderful world of natural fibres in Surene's yarn shop I was first drawn to colours - turquoise and purple tones. Adele Marais
introduced me (terrified) to marling colours and to break the matching colour
tones. Oh my hat, then it got really serious and I have discovered I am a lace
fan and occasionally might knit/crochet with fingering but not by choice.
Anything thicker I shy away from although I did one design using sock weight
and it worked up beautifully. The amazing blends we have available in South
Africa is also a big plus (alpaca is divine) and I was over the moon when I got
to squish, and of course, buy some skeins of cashmere blend.
I love the feel of natural wool yarn. It must glide through my
hands while I work with it. I hate it when a yarn splits while working with it
≈ Lauren Ackerman, owner of Yarn@ZelLe
follow her on Instagram
and on Facebook (photos borrowed)
Comments
Post a Comment