Tag Archives: mauch chunky

Yarn Snob Meets Debbie Stoller

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Quick- finish this phrase without thinking:  I say Red Heart, you say ______.  You said Super Saver, didn’t you?!  I know you did because that’s what Red Heart means to almost everyone.  It always has to me, anyway.

I feel I must warn you that what I am about to say may offend some people, and please understand that this is not my intention.  Before reading on, one must understand that I am a self proclaimed Yarn Snob.  Notice the capital letters; this is on purpose.  When I found out that we would be carrying Red Heart I could feel my nose begin to wrinkle and my lip involuntarily curled.  I may have shuddered, but I’m not sure.  This reaction comes from the immediate Red Heart – Super Saver connection.  I am not a fan of Super Saver.  There, I said it.  I don’t like the feel or the look.  I cannot imagine wearing it next to the skin or wrapping up in an afghan made from it.   I realize that it certainly serves a purpose and fills a need, but as I said, I am a Yarn Snob.  I thought that I would never, ever like a Red Heart yarn.  Ever.

And then we got our first shipment of Red Heart product.  Included in that shipment (in addition to the Super Saver) was Full O’ Sheep, Alpaca Love, and Bamboo Ewe, all from Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller. (Also included was Mystic,  an Alpaca/Acrylic blend that is just lovely to the touch.  I’ve not knitted with it yet so today I am going to focus on the Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller).  I have to admit that my interest was piqued.

I immediately liked the Full O’ Sheep, a single ply 100% wool with a bit of a lofty feel to it.  The colors are rich and bright, and have a slight sheen that you don’t usually see with wool.  The Alpaca Love is  a wool/alpaca blend that is also nice but not quite as soft to the touch.  I like to felt, so I was curious as to how these would do, and I have finally put them to the test, by knitting a large swatch out of each.

Full O' Sheep/Alpaca Love

I used a size US9 needle, could have stood a 10 I think.  I must say I enjoyed knitting with both of these yarns.  The Full O’ Sheep (darker pink) is a bit splitty (for me, anyway) but I liked it none the less.  It’s like a younger cousin of Mauch Chunky from Kraemer Yarns, as it has the same loosely spun feel.  I was very happy with the swatch, even being knit loosely; I could easily see myself knitting a garment out of this.  The Alpaca love was a bit easier for me to knit with and I was happy with the way it turned out as well.  This morning I threw them in the washer with some old t-shirts and a pair of sneakers to see how they would felt. I have a front loader, so it usually takes me some time to get the results I like.

After felting one round

I expected the Full O’ Sheep to felt pretty quickly, and it did felt down more than the Alpaca Love (which very definitely needed another go  round). However, I didn’t have adequate time, as I needed to get to the shop so I will throw them in again this evening.  I don’t think the Full O’ Sheep will take much longer.  The pic posted is after felting for one cycle.  I will post another after I give it another go.

Long story (very long story) short- I have to re-think my stance on Red Heart.  Just because a yarn says Red Heart on the label does not mean that picky knitters/crocheters need avoid it.  I plan on knitting something out of the Mystic because it really does feel wonderful.  I will also try the Bamboo Ewe; I am interested to see how it holds up, etc.

Pass the crow, please.

Back from the fair

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After a week of camping at the fair, livestock shows, working various stands, and a very long, hot auction day, I am still feeling a bit hungover.  We had a fun week but it is exhausting.  The kids all did well on their projects and their shows, and had a great time hanging out with their 4-H friends.  I’m still catching up on laundry and cleaning the camper out for relatives that are coming in on Saturday (I’m sure they would appreciate clean linens and such), but it’s nice to be home and getting back into the regular routine.

I have checked in so many new things since my last post…. let’s see… there is Classy (new colors), Mauch Chunky (new colors), Kaleidoscope, and Cotton 2010, both from Opal (that took a little longer than planned, but it’s finally available for purchase), and  we now have some striping Soxx Appeal.  I think the Freedom Hat Kit from Heritage Fiber Publications is very cool.  Available in three color combinations, the pattern offers three sizes and the kit comes with enough Shepherd’s Wool to make one hat of any size.  Click here to see all the new items for July.

Diva Bundles

Just in case you were afraid that I would leave you with no pretty pictures check out the box of loveliness that was waiting for me when I got back to work.  These are the Diva Bundles that Lea-Ann unveiled when Lorna was here.  A few lucky gals even won a bundle as a door prize.  I keep taking little breaks to paw through the box.  No two bundles are exactly alike; there are similar color combinations but the there is something different in each bundle.  Some have sparklies, some have frillies, some have sparkly frillies.  Others have a touch of ribbon yarn.  If I had to use one word to describe these little beauties it would be “FUN”.  Okay, I just thought of another one.  “UNIQUE”.  Oh!  How about “YUMMY”?  I’m going to sign off now because I could go on like this for hours.  Those of you who know me know that I am not joking about this.

Have a great day of knitting!

Slant On Nature Done – Both of us!

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slant_on_nature_back.jpgslant_on_nature_front.jpgLea-Ann and I finally have our Slant On Nature sweaters done.  I finished mine over a week ago and gave it to my sister last weekend.  She’s a tiny little thing and it will look so cute on her.  That’s mine above- I hope she likes it.  Check out Lea-Ann below.


  Notice anything odd?  Lea-Ann wore hers today… she’s having a hard time leaann-slant-on-nature.jpgdeciding on buttons so she settled on Knit Klips.   I wouldn’t recommend it.  Only Lea-Ann could pull this off… she even tried to go to the post office wearing them.  She’s lucky I’m a nice person because I had half a notion to let her go like that but I just couldn’t do it.  Can you believe that hers is the same colorway as mine?  I took the pics of mine on a lovely sunny day (outside) and the picture of her was taken this morning (inside) which is a very dismal, grey day.  What a difference in color!

mauch-chunky.jpg On another note I have been steadily plowing through the boxes (did you see the pic in the e-news?  Literally a small tower of boxes) and received the new colors of Mauch Chunky– I love this yarn!  The colors, the texture.  I don’t know why but I really do like the slighty “old” feel to this yarn.  It’s soft, but not buttery like the Shepherd’s Wool.  Don’t get me wrong- I do enjoy knitting with the SW, but sometimes I want a more vintage feel, if that’s the right term.  I want to get my hands on this so badly I can taste it.  It tastes like a pumpkin/mint/rhubarb/kiwi/walnut concotion, with a slight aftertaste of cherries and mushrooms.  Go figure. 

 Will there ever be enough knitting time?  – Susan

edit: Okay, so the image of the Mauch Chunky turned out smaller than I had intended but the colorways really are quite nice.  Rich and deep.  Maybe you should just come in so you can see it.  That is the only way to truly appreciate the colors.  Or I suppose you could just click on the link above.