Wednesday 30 September 2009

Fibery Musings...

I got my most recent LSG traveling scarf today. The owner requested that each section be an expression of the person knitting it.

Well.

She asked for it.

I'm using the lace pattern from the Anne Shirley scarf on Knitty. Anne has always been my heroine.
I'm using size 8 needles because that's all I had free. That's a true reflection of me. All my needles taken up by projects I haven't touched in months.
I'm using, mainly, bright yellow Red Heart Super Saver.
You know why.
I love that shit. I love it truly and dearly and unironically. I use it, I make the best of it, I make beautiful things from it, I make useful things from it. It makes me happy, and it's cheap.
I'm incredibly poor.
I can't afford nice yarns.

This does not mean I don't like them, want them, lust after them, get madly jealous of people who can blow $100 on 4 skeins of something on a whim....

I recently had words put into my mouth and feelings attributed to me that I don't feel. I don't "hate" nice it-yarns. I want them. Desperately. Maybe I don't get it entirely, but I still want some. I don't think "everyone who uses [them] is a filthy whore." That hurt. I want to be someone who uses them. Badly. I never said either of these things or felt either of these feelings.

I do not *do* reverse-yarn-racism. I make the best of what I can have and what I can use and what I can acquire.

So in the scarf I am including a stripe of some of my handspun. I won a mini baby alpaca roving in a PhatFiber contest last June, I spun it fairly recently, and am using it in this scarf. I have never knit with any of my handspun before. This is special.

It's an expression of me.

Granted, I may not be able to resist doing a crochet edging in neon rainbow acrylic around my section, but hey. What's a girl to do?

3 comments:

  1. I definitely appreciate your attitude about yarns, it's similar to mine. There's no way I can afford expensive yarns, I've never even seen most of them.

    I learned to spin, and I save up so that I can buy a fleece every year and do it myself, but acrylic fills the dry spells <3

    Don't feel looked down upon, dear. Not everyone is like that.

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  2. Pfffttt... What a nonsense. You love whatever yarn you like to, m'dear. You wish for whatever yarn you desire and hope one day it comes your way. Having an appreciation for Super Saver doesn't make you a reverse yarn snob, it just makes sense when you are on a budget, and you know what? You can knit/crochet something every bit as lovely with what you have as anyone with their 'it yarns' as you put it.

    I always remember the line in your profile: "I don’t care if it’s the angel-spun ass hairs of a holy alpaca or if it melts babies." I always understood that this meant that you love both - you will knit with all.

    Maybe this person just misunderstood. But you've set them right now, so please don't let it upset you any longer xx

    PS - your scarf portion will be the BEST. I wouldn't say that in front of any of the other knitters, but we know it is true, really... ;oP

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  3. Yarn snobs are assholes. Tell 'em I said so.

    I think the neon acrylic border is a fine expression of your personality. Keep on keeping on, hon. You're you, and to hell with the people who can't cope with that.

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