Yarn Review and Yarn Shop Review: Yarn & Needle

I went to Dayton Ohio Monday, where my stepdaughter Erin and her husband Andy live. Erin and I are members of the Dayton Knitting Guild. This is a wonderfully active guild and has two meetings, a morning session and an evening session, on the third Monday of the month. The nifty picture on the home page with the sheep and yarn is one that I took in my great room. The sheep toy belongs to Katherine Misegades, and the yarn is from my stash. I took it in a window seat. That is available as free wallpaper for your monitor too, if you like it.

Erin and I went to the evening session, I spent the night, and we went to yarn stores the next day. Well, Stores for Knitters anyway. One of the stores we went to was the Yarn & Needle, a nice shop in Centerville, Ohio. This town has a quaint feel and many, many old buildings. The town originated from the late 1700’s and is rich in history.

The yarn store is on the second level, above an antique store. The people were friendly and inviting, and they have a nice selection of yarn. They had something for everyone, which is nice as I don’t really “do” fashion/novelty, or yarns bigger than worsted weight. I like the effect of finer weight yarns, and the knitting I like to do just doesn’t look good in the fashion and novelty yarns.

One thing that I enjoy is seeing the selection that is so different from what I can get at home. My local yarn store carries Cascade 220, for example. This store does, too, but they also have Cascade Yarns Arcadia. Arcadia is a machine washable and dryable cotton angora blend. Yum, yum. I bought three, a yellow with a hint of green in it, a lime green, and a wine color. At 5.5 sts per inch according to the label,  this would be about a DK weight. I would not wear it at it’s hottest in Summer, but I would wear it in the Spring or Fall. I have no idea whether I would wear it as a Winter garment (not due to weight but because I get so cold I think in terms of wool, wool, or did I mention wool?)…but I would be willing to try.

I also picked up two other yarns I have been wanting to try. Zarina, by Filatura Di Crosa. Zarina is an extrafine Merino. At 26 stitches over 4 inches, and 181 yards in 50 grams (1.75 ounces) this is considerably lighter. It is nearly the same yardage as Louet Gems Fingering Weight Merino. The Zarina has a looser twist than the Gems does. I bought some of that, too, but that was at the knitting guild meeting. I am still thinking baby things for most of this, but I am also thinking lace, socks, and for the Arcadia, pullovers. Last but not least is Idea, from Katia. I bought two, one in a pretty lavender and the other in a monochromatic variegated wine. This is a flat ribbon yarn (a tube that is flat), 50% cotton, 35% viscose, 15% linen. I am thinking of trying Brioche knitting with this or reversible cables. That might be kind of fun.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene