Yarn Tasting

Yum! Yarn!

That's what Stitches with Style, a great yarn shop by my house in Newark, DE, called their event this past Sunday -- "Yarn Tasting." And it was a perfectly delicious event!

We "yarn tasted" early, before the store was officially open, so it was just a private group of 10 or so knitters and lots of YARN! Sheryl (the owner) and her staff had selected several new summer-weight yarns for us to try. Each skein was in its own plastic baggie, along with a pair of knitting needles in the recommended gauge, and a slip of paper instructing us how many stitches to cast on and what pattern to knit.

For my first test, I picked Needful Yarns Geranium. Very interesting yarn: a bit rough to the touch (it's about half linen), gorgeous coloring, an inconsistent texture (it was at points very fine, and then suddenly very fat). Although I liked the swatch when I was finished, I ultimately decided that Geranium is too difficult to knit with and not really worth the trouble.

I moved on to Jo Sharp DK Cotton. 100% cotton, this yarn felt nice, and knit up evenly and consistently. Toward the end of the swatch I worked, I began having trouble with the yarn splitting, but I blame that on myself -- I was itching to get my hands on still another different yarn! However, before I move to report on that one, I must say that this 100% cotton was a joy to work with; I have, prior to Jo Sharp, only experienced 100% cottons that felt kinda rough and stiff. I would have no objections to making a garment out of this cotton yarn.

Now, my third yarn was 100% bamboo. Very, very interesting! I am embarrassed to say that I can't recall the name of the yarn, so if anyone reading happens to have been there, please help! But I was so impressed with this yarn! I doubt I would have ever considered buying bamboo yarn if I hadn't had this chance to "taste" it. It had a silky sheen, slid on and off the needles easily (but not TOO easily!), didn't split, and looked great knitted up! The skein Sheryl had chosen for us to "taste" was a gorgeous rainbow variegated yarn. YUM!! My favorite of the day, for sure!

Not to be ignored in all the yarn "tasting" were the desserts that Sheryl and her staff baked for us. Yes, baked! Chocolate cream filled cupcakes, coffee cake, puff pastries, berry tart, fresh fruit salad (no, that wasn't baked).... the back room was full of goodies that we all enjoyed after enjoying all the new yarns of summer.

It was a GREAT event; I can't wait for the next one!!