Yarn Weights and Bolero Progression

Well, the DROPS Bolero is progressing incredibly well. I was a bit worried at the size and dimensions that the sucker would be much bigger than I had anticipated BUT given my gauge has been accurate to a T then I shall put my faith in the pattern. I've finished two of the sleeves and am working on the front right panel. You can hopefully tell the color by the picture. It's pretty darn blue.

In some ways I'm being a little bit deviant by not following the pattern exactly. The little rebel in me decided to knit the sleeves first and then the panels, leaving the back for last even though they suggest knitting the back first, then the panels, and finally the sleeves. Yes, I'm a rebel in knitting (aka a dork). I also picked out a cute little button at my LYS to go with the bolero when it's finished. It's so cute! I debated between this one and one with a snowflake but I was happily talked to a more spring friendly button by my LYS lady. I think after a long bout of Wisconsin winter, we all wanted to think more spring-friendly thoughts into our knitting. :)



I'm hoping to get this tangled lace mess into bolero shape in a week or two before tackling my stash again. The picture featured to the right is my lace yarn all squashed into a myriad of plastic bags within a plastic bag (a wee bit paranoid of moths). My lace stash is getting rather ridiculous at this point and yet I can't help but accumulate them just because they are so cost-efficient in terms of knitting time.

Consider this, worsted weight yarn is relatively fast to knit projects with and bulky yarns are even faster. The general rule of thumb with yarn cost is that the heavier the weight, the more expensive the yarn is by the yard than it's thinner/lighter weight yarns of the same fiber. You're paying more for the actual weight of the yarn and not really by the yardage then. A general case in point, Worsted Wool of the Andes is $1.19-2.19 per 110 yards/50 grams while Wool of the Andes Bulky is $3.99 per 137 yards/100 grams. It's only twenty-seven yards more but that extra bulk makes it more than just a dollar more for a few extra yards.

Now, if you enjoy the finished end more than the means, well, bulkier is better for that quick adrenaline rush at the end of your efforts. If you happen to enjoy the long and grueling act before the end then these fast finish lines can be a bit diminishing on your pocket book if you have to buy more yarn for more projects faster as well as take up a large amount of space to stash it all in. Lace yarn then becomes the answer if you are a patient person and enjoy a level of tediousness. You can enjoy 800+ yards of yarny bliss for under 20 bucks in the right fibers that will keep you knitting for days if not weeks or months at a time AND still be able to stash your collection rather neatly. It's sad to say that I own in yardage more lace than I do in worsted BUT the worsted takes up more of the bulky space in my room than said luscious lace. Personally, I like to balance my knitting diet with both worsted, bulky, and lace just to keep myself on my toes and still get a bit of that joy from finishing a project in between the big lace projects.

Besides, I personally get an incredible rush from blocking my knitting regardless of its in lace or not. Most knitters hate blocking but there is magic to the process. Hell, it's half the reason I wanted to knit up my bolero in linen so I can try to block it. I hear if you want to soften it then you have to whap it against a surface while its wet because it has a tendency to stiffen in water.

That reminds me...a few days ago at my LYS I was talking with a gal there about different yarns. I don't go there that often given I try to finish projects in between visits just so my stash doesn't accumulate too much but that means I'm not really a familiar face there as my visits are a few times a year. It's kind of cute when one of the ladies tried to dissuade me from knitting the huge lace tunic in the spring/summer 2010 Vogue Knitting magazine when I was joking about knitting it. Her comment was that I needed a lot of patience for it. My inner demon was laughing behind my polite smile as I mentally noted the nearly six month escapade that was my Aeolian shawl included with the yarn snapping twice and the number of times I had to rip back because of it. When I think about the patience needed to do these huge projects and the fact that I along with many other knitters enjoy said projects enough to do it as a hobby, it is no wonder that we are viewed as a little nutty by non-knitters.