Sunday, September 25, 2011

Wool...Why I Love It!

I was about to purchase a store bought cardigan.  Then I saw it, it was 100% acrylic.  Oh hell no!  I am not going to buy that crap.  I love wool because it has several properties which most people have no idea about.  Acrylic traps the sweat next to your skin and you freeze in winter and it is nasty stuff.  It makes my fingers peel and the only time I use it is to teach knitting.  It is cheap and easy to work with for first time knitters.  When they get a feel of the merino wools, most of them are hooked. 

Wool breathes and will keep you nice and warm and cool depending on the circumstances.  For those of you who live in the North and keep telling me that it is too hot to wear in Texas...yeah right...I don't listen because what they fail to realize is that it gets damn cold in Texas in Winter, we have a moist cold that goes right through a body.  Wool is perfect since it does breathe and when it is wet, it still insulates our bodies. 

It won't burn unless a match is placed right next to it.  Why do you think that people in the past, took their wool blankets, soaked them in water and beat out fires with them? 

I know all of the knitters are shaking their heads about now.  Yep, that is the good stuff.  I love wool, in it's many forms.  Why do you think I paint it?  It is a love affair that won't end.  There are so many versions of it.  There are completely harsh wools that need to be seriously combed and then there is the buttery soft merino wool.  It is a dream to knit with and it is beautiful to work with.  It depends on the fiber but, they all take the dye differently. 

I love to spin Wensleydale, it has a natural shine to it.  It makes beautiful yarn.  There is an American fiber called Sweet Grass Targhee that is springy and squishy.  It spins beautifully.  I get looks when I take it with me to craft fairs...most people have never heard of it.  I tell them to pull it out of the bag and play with it.  If you can't touch it, what is the point? 

I am getting ready to go to my usual yearly venue...Katy Rice Harvest Festival.  I am trying to knit as fast as my fingers will let me.  I am burned out on hats right now.  I need to do knit several pairs of mitts for a charity.  I promised several pairs of fingerless mitts.  I will take care of them and send them out to the ladies but, after that, it is time for me.  I am going to finally break down and knit myself a cardigan.  It will be a proper wool one.  I have the yarn in my stash. 

See this post was getting somewhere.  I decided not to spend my money on a cardi in acrylic when I have delectable Peruvian Highland wool here to knit with.  :)  For the niece who told me she wanted to learn to knit so she could make herself a sweater that wouldn't fall apart after the first wash.  I tried to teach her but, she put it down and walked away from it.  If anyone needs to knit, she is the one...she hates her job and is seriously raging and needs to knit to stop the raging.  She has so much stress that it is seriously affecting her health.  I am worried that she is going to have a freaking heart attack from it. 

I knit when I need to resolve a crisis in my life.  If I didn't knit, I would be insane.  Each stitch helps me to work through my problems.  I also knit for the fun of it.  Who doesn't love knitting socks?  I love socks.  I have several pairs of my own hand knit socks.  I am in demand with my family members where socks are concerned and now I have several orders for ear flap hats. 

I have to finish a pair of mittens and a set will be ready for my niece, Maribeth.  The hat and mitts are really girly.  Later on this set.  I will take pics and show them off later.  After RHF, I will be adding things to the shop.  Not only yarn but, actual items people can purchase from me.  I want to test the market with RHF and then I will add them to the shop, should they sell really well. 

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