I often get asked which is the best yarn I have ever used. I never know how to answer because, for me, the quality of yarn is wholly dependent upon what project I am doing. When I think about yarn, which I admittedly do all the time, I just try to think about it in context. What type of project am I making and who am I making it for? How will the object be treated, how will it be used and how often will it be used? Do I need to think about maintenance? In other words, every yarn has a purpose. - Something About Yarn - Knitting & Crochet Blog Week 2010
I wrote this last year and it still rings true to me. Thanks to my livelihood, I see and use a lot of different yarns and I have rarely come across yarn that isn't fit for purpose. I will freely admit that out-and-out novelty yarn like Rico Pom-Pom isn't for me but it is a great yarn for the right sort of knitter. Likewise, I am a huge, huge fan of Rowan Kidsilk Haze but I know several knitters who cannot abide the texture, the fibres or how it knits up.
If I look at my personal stash, it is clear that I like really fine yarns (i.e. lace weight yarns).
I cannot explain this love of lace weights because I can only wear so many lacy shawls without looking like I'm taking part in a Victorian Era re-enactment show and yet I am forever knitting and stashing yarn not much thicker than regular sewing thread.
I am currently knitting a very, very basic triangular shawl using Noro Sekku, a 2-ply cotton/wool/silk blend. It is a typical Noro yarn with surprising colour changes, thin & thick bits, and it is slightly overspun. It works well with a very simple stocking stitch shawl but as a knitter I think I am definitely gravitating towards less showy yarns.
When next in Scandinavia I have a mind to stock up on Snældan 1ply, a brilliant Faroese/Falklands yarn, and Navia Uno, a strange lace yarn which combines a high-twist 'thread' and an underspun core to great effect. Both yarns look very unremarkable in the skein, but they knit up beautifully. My current blog header is a close-up of Navia Uno, incidentally. Later in the year I hope to have time to knit with Garthenor's organic 1-ply wool. I wish that Blacker Design did fine yarns because I would love to try some of the different breeds and also support British producers whilst I'm indulging in my favourite past-time.
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