For those of you who aren't local, the back room is where we keep our sport and dk weight yarns (and a few baby yarns...) During the past six years, this room has usually been the quietest in the shop. Novelty yarns weren't ever in the back room. Sock yarns have always been at the counter. Handpaints are mostly in the hallway, with some scattered throughout the store. Worsted wools for knitting and felting are in the back of the main room. And quick bulky yarns are in the front room. So all of those trends have kept knitters in other areas of the shop.
The back room hasn't been totally empty - it has always seen its share of new baby knitters. Who doesn't want to make a nice sport or fingering weight sweater, hat or blanket for that newborn? But those projects are easy to choose, so you find a pattern, pick a suitable yarn, and zim, zam, you're in and out of the back room.
During the past year and a half, though, that back room is starting to see some real action! Let's face it - not everybody can wear a bulky sweater. Even a sweater out of worsted weight yarn can be too warm for some folks. All of a sudden, sweaters in sport and dk weights have rocketed to the top of the charts. And boy do we have some luscious fibers from which to choose...
It is hard to get someone used to "small yarn" knitting, though. Customers are finding great patterns, and when they realize that they need to use a sport or dk weight yarn, most times they say, "Ugh!" But really, if you knit because you love to knit, and you love to wear what you knit, then why the "ugh"? So the stitches may be smaller, and it may take you a little more time to complete the project. But don't you love to knit? So it shouldn't matter that you are spending more time knitting something. The point is, you are knitting. So the yarn is a litte smaller than what you are used to. Don't sweat it. Knit it.
And speaking of great lighter weight yarns, I thought that last week we had finally gotten the back room to a state of organization - where it could stay for at least a few months. We've had so many new yarns recently, it was a trick to fit them all in, and in a way that made sense. But then yesterday a box arrived from JCA... It was the Jo Sharp Georgette that I ordered a couple of months ago. I guess we have to move some more things to fit it in...
It is not online (will be tomorrow) but believe me when I say, it's just incredible. The colors are lovely, and it is amazingly soft. Unfortunately, the Jo Sharp books were not in the same shipment, so we have to wait a bit for the patterns, but I do remember there were several that I wanted to make.
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4 comments:
Hi Jill, I was in the shop this morning and just want to thank you all so much for the comments regarding the rug I'm working on and for all the help.
It's always such a joy visting the shop.
Nancy
I used to be one of those "ugh" knitters. That was when I was a newbie and the small needles and little stitches just intimidated me. After I learned to knit socks though the lighter weight yarns didn't seem so daunting. I'm a bit bustier than most girls and I find the bulky yarns too much in the chest area. Now I've learned the lighter weights don't "add" to my chest. They fit nice and flatter without adding bulk. I've become a convert to dk or smaller weight.
Funny you mention Jo Sharp... I actually called today to see if you had any of the georgette (not posted in the store yet) and to my suprise you do! Her patterns and yarns are so yummy (esp. the georgette!). Although I have not yet made any of her patterns, they look gorgeous. Make me want to knit faster. Do you find that her patterns are generally easy to follow?
Thanks for the inspiration. I do tend to shy away from these yarns as I find I have "rowing out" issues. I have tried all the common techniques to overcome - i.e change needles size, adjust tension but to no avail but not ready to give up just yet...
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