Wyld Ryd

Almost every Saturday, I volunteer at a genealogy library. Volunteering means hanging with my other crochet buddy, Meredith, who always inspires me to think outside the box when it comes to crochet and knitting. We discuss our current projects, new yarn finds, our families, our ancestors. It is, after all, a genealogy library and we are there to help patrons with their often elusive family searches.

Last Saturday, on my way to my "volunteer" (a genealogy library but my girls have always called it going to the volunteer), I pulled up behind a black Lexus sporting license plates that read "WYLD RYD." I thought, what a great title for a blog, but gave it up because cars and crochet don't mix, right!?.

I had brought my ball winder with me to wind a few skeins of yarn in preparation for some lace projects I am getting underway. Holiday gift giving and all that. Note to Vern and Con: yes, you each will be getting a lace shawl. I don't own a yarn swift so I thought I would take advantage of the highback chairs at the center to serve as an extra pair of hands. First up was a skein of KnitPicks Bare Peruvian Highland Wool fingering weight. Gonna use this for StitchStud's Peacock Track Mystery Crochet-A-Long. I plan to dye it in peacock blues and greens. Next up, Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm's Sock Weight, perfect for an oversized scarf. Although the chairs were a tad bit narrow to hold the yarns with any real tension, the skeins rolled off nicely as I wound them into balls. Then came Araucania's Lonco Multy. Some of you already are aware of my love-hate relationship with this yarn. I've been avoiding working on a second Bird of Paradise Shawl because of the hours spent unraveling this tough little cotton yarn.

Hoping to avoid any opportunity for a mishap, I grabbed the leather office chair. Its back is wider so it should hold the yarn better. As I cautiously started to unwind the skein, the chair shifted, revolving slowly like a yarn swift. I pushed it along and the yarn came off with little hesitation. I held my breath. The chair jerked to a stop as the yarn snagged. I cursed the yarn and wondered why I even bothered. In frustration, I gave the yarn a little downward tug, surprisingly freeing the yarn. I nudged the chair, smooth sailing for a few yards. Another snag, another damn, another tug. I spun the chair, faster. Another snag, another tug, finally, freedom. Soon, the chair was turning like a kid spinning on a merry-go-round. Patrons walking into to the library stopped short, fascinated by the spinning chair as yarn was pulled off and formed into a little ball. Finally, the last length of yarn left my hand, completing the new yarn ball. I reached out, stopped the chair, and took a deep breath -- I had been holding my breath somewhat. What took 13 hours to wind the first skein, only took 45 minutes for this ball. Cue the chorus of angels. I was in yarn heaven.

Lesson learned? Yarn can be quite temperamental. Some can be quite easy going, allowing you to wind it up with a child's helpful arms. Others need a swift kick in the @#$ and can only be controlled by the unyeilding arms of a yarn swift. Although I know that the unusual way the Araucania Lonco Multy was put up into a skein had a lot to do with my earlier problems, I realize that I had unwittingly created more twists and turns as I tried to "figure out" each and every snag by untwisting every perceived twist, only to twist it upon itself even more. Human nature being what it is, we try to outwit such yarn and think ahead of a snag, a twist, a perceived tangle. But under the constraint of a yarn swift, you are forced to let the swift and the yarn work together. Your hand just goes along for the ride.

So, if you need an extra pair hands and no yarn swift is handy, go to work and give that office chair a wyld ryd.

P.S. Get yourself some Araucania Lonco Multy but don't forget the swift.

Thy name is . . .

Call me a glutton for punishment. After all I have said about Araucania's Lonco Multy, about how difficult, how tiresome, how tedious it was to wind each skein into a ball, I went out and bought four more skeins! True, the yarn produces a lovely drape and the colors are brilliant, but, I hadn't planned on buying more Lonco until after the manufacturer fixed the skein problem. But the best laid plans of mice and [wo]men . . .

You see, I have two sisters who, as enablers of my crochet passion, convinced me to make them each a Bird of Paradise shawl. Both called asking for the shawl within hours after my posting the pictures to the blog. Of course, any old yarn would not do; it had to be Lonco in the unnamed colorway 4002. So, I will be at it again during the next two months. Actually, it won't be so bad as I will be take this opportunity to actually WRITE down my pattern. I've even recruited another tester.

Did I tell you? I wrote Araucania Yarns about the problems with Lonco. I sent my message late one afternoon and got this response back early the next morning:

"We have had problems with Lonco because the supplier have not used our indications. The idea is that every yarn we worked with should tied up as Patagonia [Nature Cotton] but he sent a totally different kind of ties, which has bring us a lot of troubles. We are working now in an idea to make the untyed proccess easier. I really appreciate your comments."

So, you see, I think this yarn deserves a second chance. At least, that is what I will keep saying to myself as I unwind my new skeins.

Bad to the Bone?!

Today, I was bad. Very bad.

I went to my favorite LYS to buy yarn for several swaps. I got what I came for, but also walked away with some yarn and vintage buttons I'm keeping for myself. Couldn't help myself. The little shop is chock full of the very thing a yarnaholic, no, a yarn afficianado like myself should indulge in only in measured doses.

You may remember how I gushed over Araucanía's Pategonia Nature's Cotton, a softly-textured smooth bulky yarn, spun into thin and thick plies. According to its website, Araucanía Yarns is a group of artisans and designers dedicated to the artisan dyeing of fibers for weaving and knitting located in Santiago, Chile, on the southwest corner of South America. Well, Araucania has done it again with its brand new Lonco Multi yarn, a simple 100% mercerized cotton fingering weight yarn with the most vivid and vibrant colors I've seen in a long time. The yarn called to me as soon as I walked into the store, with colors straight out of the rain forest: rusty red, ochre yellow, koolaid blue purple, and true green. Unfortunately, although quite inventive when naming yarns, Araucania seems to have assigned the naming of most of its yarn colorways to an accountant. This one is called "4002." Ridiculous -- a better name would be "Parrot." Whatever, I think this skein will be a shawl.

Oh, the reason I was at Aylin's in the first place? I have three active swaps on Ravelry, all of which require yarn. So, in addition to my little indulgence, I picked up:

• What has got to be the most unusual source for fiber: sugar cane. Araucania's Ruca Multy, made from 100% Italian sugar cane, looks and feels like a bamboo/silk blend, so silky, so shiny, and oh so soft. Okay, okay, I'll say it -- it sure feels sweet! When I raised the skein to my nose for a sniff, the sales lady laughed, saying that everyone does that when first hearing what it is made of . . . No worries, no sugary smell.
• What has got to be the most bizarre name for a yarn: Bris by Swedish Yarn Imports, half wool and half soy. It feels like a silk/wool blend. I was told that, in Swedish, Bris means "cold breeze between mountains" . . . Go figure.
• What is a fine example of yarn from one of my favorite yarn companies: Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine, an ultra soft fingering weight yarn that can be used for shawls, delicate sweaters, and scarves, as well as socks. No slouch in the color naming department, Berocco named this one Redwood Mix.

Yes, I was bad. All this yarn -- obviously I'm not making a dent in my stash. But looking at my list afresh, I wasna so bad. Almost all of this yarn is going to a home I don't call my own. Even the yarn I bought for myself will be used to make something for one of my spoilees. But hey, I get to use it first.