I know it’s Tuesday, but it feels like a Monday!

Starting with the fact I had written a nice long post and hit the wrong button and its gone!!!!

So lets try this again, shall we?

I managed to get the holiday gift project I mentioned yesterday to the 1/2 way mark last night and I’ve started the other half and hope to finish it by the weekend, wish me luck!

I also started my Gram’s Holiday Shawl project. The yarn I couldn’t think of the name of yesterday is Lion Brand Wool Ease Bulky. I have to say, I’m less than fond of this yarn. While it is the right yarn for the project, it does have a tendancy to split stitches easily and to snag on the needles. I’m using it because Gram has to have something machine washable and I know it is the type of thing she will like, but it isn’t a yarn I would choose to use often or for myself.

**Warning: Rant ahead!**

While we are on the subject of acrylic yarns, there has been a lot of chatter on the Yahoo! Groups and other places lately about fiber choices and how knitters treat one and other based on those choices. I haven’t posted there about it, but I will here since this is my space to state my opinions.

I am a Fiber Snob.

I’m stating this up front so there will be no confusion on that point. I like natural fibers. I have gotten more into them since I became a spinner and learned more about them. I will use other fibers or blends for specific projects and find myself occassionlly drawn to an intersting novelty yarn with a high acryllic content. However, given the choice I’d probably try to knit with barbed wire before I’d buy Red Heart.

That said, I realize that not everyone feels that way (which is what keeps LB and RH in business, afterall!) There has been much discussion going around about the fact that not everyone can afford natural fibers and that there are many reasons that some people prefer to use acrylics. To each his own, right?

I certainly wouldn’t hassle a beginner for using RH for their first project, though in my experience with helping new knitters I’ve found that a basic wool is often easier to work with. I keep a supply of random bits of Cascade 220 on hand for just such occassions. I also think bamboo needles with wool are easier for a beginner to handle . . . but that is another whole discussion.

A number of years ago, after I had been knitting for about a year, I took a good hard look at my stash. It was filled with all sorts of acrylic yarns that I had accumulated from the local craft store sales. There were a few skeins of wool, wool/alpaca blends and even a skein or two of mohair. After thinking about what projects I really did want to work on and which yarns I was most likely to reach for in those tubs (yes, I had several tubs after a year of collecting) I realized that most of what I had were yarns I really didn’t want to use. They might have been a “great buy” at the time, but the odds of my working with them were slim.

Part of my rational for this, which was certainly true back then, and is still true now, is that I am a relatively slow knitter. It can take me weeks to months to finish any one object, and that is if I don’t get distracted to another project! Therefore, given the amount of time it takes me, the hours and hours that I put into a project, it only makes sense (to me) to use the the best materials I can afford. I get hours of enjoyment from handling the yarn (or fiber) and if I were to value the finished object in terms of both materials and labor, the labor cost (even at a modest hourly rate) would far exceed the materials cost for any project I’ve done.

As for ease of care, if I can spend hours and hours of my time (which really is the only thing we truely have) working on a handknit whatever for someone, the least they can do is take a few minutes to hand wash it every once in a while. If they aren’t up for the challenge, then perhaps I should stick to purchasing their gifts?

I do make some exceptions for this generalization. My Grams is one. She is way past the point where she can be expected to wash things by hand (she’s 82 and not very “with it”), I do know that she appreciates when someone makes her something and therefore it is time well invested even if it must be spend handling acrylic yarns.

The other exception I’m willing to make is for new mothers. Generally, I make gifts for new babies in 2 categories. I either knit simple patterns that go up quickly and are intended for “every-day” type use, in which case I will use a machine washable yarn. Sometimes that is superwash wool, other times its a wool/acrylic blend and very seldomly it will be all acrylic. The other cateogory of baby item I make are those gifts intended for special people, who I believe will appreciate the time and effort put into the gift, and who will take the time to launder according to instructions. These are ususally things with a more complicated pattern that will look best in wool or a wool/silk blend or what ever and are intended to be used for special occasions and treated as potential family heirlooms. I make far more things in category 1 than in category 2.

On the other hand, my MIL recently commented that she may stop knitting all together since she only really knits for others and she feels the people she has been knitting for do not appreciate the things she makes. I managed to restrain myself, but it wasn’t easy. See, she is what the ladies at my knitting group refer to as a “Red Heart Girl”. She is of an era when acrylics were the hip new thing. Far cheaper than wool, not scratchy like old wool used to be and machine washable, what’s not to love, right? Especially if you are knitting things for a family as a way to save money. Way understandable, for say the 1940s and 1950s. What she doesn’t get is that the people she is knitting for see these gifts as “crafty”*. They don’t take into account the hours of love and work she puts into them. They simply see inexpensive materials and think “CHEAP” which is often spelled “CRAP” in many people’s dictionaries.

While I understand her preferences, I just can’t agree with them. I have been the receipient of several of the things she has made over the past few years and while I do wear them, it is out of obligation, not enjoyment. I therefore, have a hard time blaming anyone else for not using the things she makes.

I guess the moral of this story would be “know your audience”. If you are making a gift for someone, take into account what their preferences might be. If you know they really prefer wool but can’t afford to knit them a wool sweater, why not make them a wool hat or mittens instead? They are probably more likely to use it than something made from a fiber they don’t ejoy. I have a friend who abhors mohair and angora, anything fuzzy, so I simply don’t use those fibers when making things for her. I have another friend who is allergic to everything, and I do mean everything. So she gets things made from high-end acrylics, like Collinette yarns. My husband doesn’t like acrylic at all, but is also very hard on his clothing, so he gets wool blends with a high wool content but enough nylon or other man-made fiber to add some strength to the fabric. I have come to believe that choosing the right yarn for a project is as much a matter of choosing the right fiber for the recipient as choosing the proper yarn for the pattern intended.

*By “crafty” I mean that handknit things tend to fall into two categories, Hand made or home made. Homemade being that stuff that Mom used to make which was embarrassing to wear in front of the other kids at school, the type of stuff that shows up commonly at chuch craft sales and generally almost anything that involves a glue-gun to make. Hand made being the stuff that you could sell in a high-end boutique for what it is actually worth, in both materials and labor.

Note: The preceeding are my opinions. I’m entitled to mine and your entitled to yours and since this is my blog I get to post mine here! If you agree, great! If you don’t agree that’s fine too!

End Rant

Interesting, I haven’t posted something that long in a while!

Guess I should get back to work now. I’ll have more updates on the projects soon and I’ll try to borrow a camera to take some pictures soon and I’ll post the photos of the gifts after they have been presented so as not to spoil anyones surprise!

One more work day this week, will we make it?