Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

In early 2009, when ordering the opening inventory for Rare Purls, the yarn sales reps kept telling me that with the economy in such bad straits, the fancy, pricey novelty yarns were out of style. Those frilly yards of fun were not in the latest collections for so many of the lines. Knitting magazines featured smooth yarns knit in elegant cabled patterns, and knitted lace was everywhere. But for many knitters, well, they just loved their novelty yarns. To cast on a yarn with size 11 US needles and whip out an incredible scarf in a weekend was their idea of happy knitting. Slubs and flags, sparkle and fluff all served up in a single strand made easy garter stitch scarves look extraordinary. And remarkably, most errant stitching simply vanished in the glitz. The shop opened with an inventory of lovely smooth yarns of every fiber variety and colorway. Still, time after time, customers looked around, then finally asked "where are your novelty yarns?"

Oh yes, I parroted all I had been told, that more somber yarns were a reflection of more somber economic times, but they didn't buy it (literally) and honestly, neither did I. The average knitters wanted bang for their buck and nothing quite filled the bill for novice knitters like novelty yarns. When curious crafters, having seen a friend's froufrou wrap, came in to sign up for lessons and give knitting a whirl, I would pull out the simple wool sampler scarf taught in our beginner class. Their disappointment was obvious. Often, I would go home and pull from my own stash to sate a newbies appetite for instant gratification. Now that's love for a fellow crafter.

Fortunately, this saga has a happy ending. The yarn industry is responding to the outcry from novelty loving knitters who still want those wonderful, fulfilling skeins. Production of novelty yarns is back on track. In many versions, the plentiful nylon, used for so many ribbons and wrappers, is now being replaced by more natural fibers such as bamboo, and silk. Kid mohair, lovely solo, is also gorgeous incorporated in a more novel presentation. Though novelty yarns will never replace the bread and butter yarns such as Cascade 220 and On Line Clip, this is not their purpose. They make effortless knitting into striking designs, strong on texture. In fact, I think a year or two of innovation has brought us all to a better place. Maybe it is a form of "natural selection", because the new luxury novelties are better than ever. It is our attraction to fancy yarns that has brought them back to this season's collections. Knitters have been heard; the novelty has not worn thin.

Happy knitting!

Kay Mather

Copyright April 2010

On Kay's Needles

This month, my knitting is a multitask, for sure! I am about 10% across the 468 stitches, bound off in picot on my Peony Scarf by Twisted Sisters. I can hardly wait to block and wear. This project has been a long labor of love. My Ron Socks, knit in Opal's Harry Potter Limited Edition, are at about 45% complete. I knit the first sock with a slightly longer usual leg for Bill's socks, then noticed that this great, long repeat hand dye had less yardage than the yarns I had previously used for Bill's tootsies. Perhaps I will need to knit solid toes. Then the internal quandry, "how can I make these socks identical with a long repeat and so little yardage" So, I took the sock with me (in my new Daisy Muir project bag that Luke gave me for my birthday) to one of my local knitting groups, asking for a concensus. Should socks be identical or fraternal? (I had even found a Ravelry thread asking the same question.) I was met with humor and tough love. Finally, having knit the first sock to the toe and the second one, knit from the center of the ball, to the gusset, I am on track for an awesome pair of fraternal socks. I have let the dyer's talent shine, adding simply a tweek of 180 degrees in the two socks. If need be, I can knit the toes in both with a solid color, no biggie. I love that I let these socks take a different direction.

My most recent project is a crochet poncho crocheted in an elegant Gedifra ribbon for a friend's daughter.

Copyright 2010 Kay Mather