What a Life!

Yes, I’m still stuck on St. Brigid. You’d think I’d be over it since I’m taking a mandatory break while waiting for my swatches to dry, but no…I’m still agonizing.

The Cascade and Plymouth Galway are very nice, but I’ve had bad experiences with knitting beautiful sweaters with those yarns only to have them felt with what I thought was very gentle care. I use Peace Fleece for longies for the boys, and I wash them in the handwash cycle of my washer with no problems at all. We had one pair of longies made with Cascade Tweed and they felted in the crotch just from the seatbelt in his car seat! Ach! I made Ben a sweater using Cascade 220 last fall and I washed it to block it and it half felted, the stitch definition disappeared, and needless to say, he’s never worn it. I made Galway Guy for Steve with Plymouth Galway, and while it hasn’t felted, the arms are looking like they need a serious meeting with the sweater shaver (which I can’t seem to find right now). Another sweater I made for Ben with Galway has started to show signs from felting, and he’s only worn it a few times (though it has to be washed every time he wears it which may have started the felting). Cascade 220 is great for felting. I’ve made some of the best bags with it. It felts like a charm, where Peace Fleece would probably take more work (based on my experience with it not felting when I washed it). I haven’t tried felting with Galway, but I’ve heard it works great too. It’s that wonderful easy-to-felt quality of those yarns that scares me.

I was nosing around on the yahoo knit-a-long group for St. Brigid and someone posted a referral to Jamieson’s Heather Aran Shetland Wool as a good substitute for the yarn used in the original pattern. Remember that entralac hat that I frogged and re-knit (and am thinking about frogging again but haven’t posted about it yet)? I knew it was made with Shetland yarn that I found on clearance at one of my favorite local yarn stores. I went upstairs to look at the label. That yarn happens to be Jamieson’s Soft Shetland which was discontinued and for which they recommend Jamieson’s Heather Aran as a substitute.

So today, I shall be swatching with that yarn. I am sure I will not need all of the yarn I have left for my hat, so snitching some to swatch for St. Brigid certainly should not be a problem.

Now I must go feed my children and then do my usual Friday errands including a run to the grocery store. I wouldn’t want Ben to cry again because we don’t have any yogurt…