Don’t Be a Yarn Snob

 

I define a snob not as someone who has expensive things but someone who looks down on others for not having the same expensive designer labels as they do.

Unfortunately, I am seeing more and more in the yarn world, crafters looking down on other crafters who use acrylic yarn. To the point where they say I don’t want to wear plastic. This makes me smile because I wonder how much of their clothing is 100% cotton or wool.

I have found this disdain for acrylics to be rude but after a recent trip to England I wonder how much it excludes people from the so-called community? I went into one yarn shop and looked in the window of another; both in small towns and they were both mostly selling manmade fibers. They were obviously catering to what crafters wanted. (Yes, there is the reverse argument that people buy what is available even if they would prefer something else.) And not only what crafters wanted but what the locals wanted. One of the shops did have a very small selection of hand dyed yarn and yarn from local sheep and I’m guessing that this was for the tourist market.

Manmade fibers are reasonably priced, easy to care for and softer than many “natural” yarns. They fit the need for people who want to craft but do not have the budget or wish to work with fancy hand dyed wool.

So next time you show utter contempt for people who use acrylics, consider those who are hearing that statement and how your superiority is telling them they are not welcome in the “community”.

Vacation Knitting

 

When talking about all my WIPs I said I had so many because of extra cast ons for an upcoming trip. We are now home from that trip; so how did I do?

I started three projects specifically to take away with me and I kept it to those three. One project was for the plane journey. I probably could have finished it during the trip but I wanted to make sure I still had an easy project for the return journey so I didn’t pick it up again until near the end. I should add here that the reason I had prepared three projects before leaving is that there was one trip where none of my projects worked out and I ended up not knitting, so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t in that position again.

I did work on the other two projects but knitting only took place in the evenings and not during the day. I decided I was not going to carry a bag with me when I was out and about. And that turned out to be a good decision as many museums were searching bags. In the future I think I can stuff a small project into a jacket pocket.

What I have learnt from this is that preparing projects before hand is a good idea. A hat on circular needles is just right for a plane journey and three projects is the right amount as this gives choice.

There was one item of souvenir shopping. We spent a few days in the Cotswolds and my sister and I went to a small yarn shop. She purchased some fun yarn and has already crocheted a hat. I purchased some sock yarn that had been had dyed by the shop owner which I thought was an appropriate souvenir.