Shopping for yarn is harder work than it sounds. First there’s the “what type of yarn can I substitute for the far too expensive stuff the designer used?” dilemma, and then there’s actually sourcing it in a colour you like, and then there’s the part where you read the yarn reviews and find out it’s going to be too scratchy or the project photos show that the shade is actually completely different to how it’s portrayed in the shop and now you’re back at square one…
So, long story short I’ve been meaning to buy yarn for a while but just didn’t have the mental capacity for the task. Until now! Hooray for new yarn!
First up I ordered a load of Drops Nepal in Dark Ivy, which will hopefully become a cropped version of this Bloomsbury jumper.
There are definitely some red flags with this project. First, I’m not historically great with wearing wool against my skin so before ordering I spent some time rubbing old Nepal projects all over myself in places where this would be touching me. I think it’ll be ok, but we’ll see.
The real pain point will be my neck since that’s extra sensitive, so I’ll need to think about sewing in a soft fabric of some kind to keep it from touching me. Of course the alternative was to buy merino for about three times the price, so I will live with this compromise!
The other problem is the pattern itself, it…doesn’t get great reviews. Still, enough people have knitted this that there are tons of helpful project notes on Ravelry, and of course forewarned is forearmed. It’ll be fiiiiine…
A new to me yarn is Drops Nord, in Navy Blue which is lovely and soft at first touch due to the alpaca. This one is going to be a Spin-Stitch Poncho (off-Rav).
I did the recommended swatching and was a bit surprised to see how holey it is, but on closer inspection everyone else’s is too and I was just being unobservant.
This is one of those patterns that’s all stockinette except for the occasional special row, so should be good TV knitting on an evening. Or at least it would be, if I hadn’t chosen dark blue which is basically impossible to focus on during winter and requires The Special Lamp to be on at all times. Maybe I’ll cast this one on last of the three, waiting for lighter nights seems like it might be wise!
The final addition to this haul is Drops Fiesta in the Ink Spots colourway, which is so far removed from something I would normally buy for a garment but what can I say, it won my heart. It is, in theory anyway, going to be a Refracted Sweater (off-Rav).
This is a pattern I stumbled across during the Fasten Off Yarn-a-long in December and I do love it, but my yarn choice might be a problem. Again it’s the itchiness factor. But I am planning to make the short sleeve version of this, and it’s got a wide boat neck, so it shouldn’t hit my major problem areas sensitivity-wise.
That said it’s very cheap wool and feels like it (even after a wash), so I’m really hoping this works out but if not it might end up frogged and repurposed as socks for someone with hardened feet. We’ll see how it goes.
If you follow me on Mastodon you’ll know I got overexcited and already started that last project, it’s very squishy and I love the look of the yarn but my wrists are already suffering from the itchiness. Might have to wash my swatch a couple times more and see if it softens up at all before going much further.
Or maybe I’ll just suffer. Because damn, I love this colourway!
🧶
