How fabulous that Wooldreamers is utilizing "waste wool". As always Sandi, your yarn reviews inform me about yarns I haven't heard of and delight my fiber creative mind and heart. Manchego cheese is delicious and it was my favorite when I lived in Spain. :)
I have to ask, does anybody think yarn is getting pricey? I know I have been stashing since the late 1980s so I have a stash, but it seems like things are getting out of hand. Just asking. For me a worsted weight yarn should run under $10 a skein, but I am seeing closer to $15.
There is no doubt that high-quality yarn is not cheap. But there is also no reason yarn should be exempt from the same inflationary pressures as everything else.
When I owned my yarn shop back in the early 2000's, I sold Jamieson's Spindrift for about $4 a skein. It's now selling for $9.50. Cascade 220 was $7 per skein. It's now between $11–12. And the house I bought in 1994 for $300,000 is now valued at $1.1 million.
Making yarn requires land to feed the sheep, a shepherd to tend them, a shearer, all the folks who scour, spin, and dye the yarn, someone to sell you the yarn (or take photos and maintain the website through which you buy), and transportation to get the fiber/yarn from one step in the process to the next. Everybody in that supply chain faces the same rising costs for food, housing, fuel, etc.
I think I need to devote a whole post to why yarn costs what it does, and why I believe it's worth it to buy less but buy better. Clearly I have a *lot* to say.
How do we attract new knitters with this price point? I am also seeing lots of stores closing, due to age of owners, also the internet’s impact. I hate to see our whole industry go online. There is the touch factor and eye candy stores provide. Yes please do an article about farm to lys and how the we get the prices we are seeing! You are right, buy less but better quality.
I have wanted to try this yarn, and missed them at H &H. When I am in the knitting doldrums I make striped mittens to donate to local school program. Good to know about this one. Are you beading at Maker Fest?
I think you should order up a couple of skeins to play with.
And no, I won't be beading (though that would be fun). One of my jobs is working in event management for Golden Peak Media, the company that puts on Maker Fest. I'll be spending my week at the registration desk.
Hi Sandi, I'm jealous that you'll be at Maker [Bead] Fest. I was an inveterate beader years ago and I never got the chance to go. This year, I'll be in the northern tier of PA on a hiking/music trip. Maybe next year. Hope it's fun and productive.
I always enjoy this sort of gathering—lots of people indulging their creative impulses! One of my jobs is working in event management for Golden Peak Media, the company that puts on Bead Fest. I'll be spending my week at the registration desk.
How fabulous that Wooldreamers is utilizing "waste wool". As always Sandi, your yarn reviews inform me about yarns I haven't heard of and delight my fiber creative mind and heart. Manchego cheese is delicious and it was my favorite when I lived in Spain. :)
Thank you, Jodie!
Sandi, I really appreciate your yarn reviews. Have fun at the Fest!
Thanks, Marie!
I have to ask, does anybody think yarn is getting pricey? I know I have been stashing since the late 1980s so I have a stash, but it seems like things are getting out of hand. Just asking. For me a worsted weight yarn should run under $10 a skein, but I am seeing closer to $15.
There is no doubt that high-quality yarn is not cheap. But there is also no reason yarn should be exempt from the same inflationary pressures as everything else.
When I owned my yarn shop back in the early 2000's, I sold Jamieson's Spindrift for about $4 a skein. It's now selling for $9.50. Cascade 220 was $7 per skein. It's now between $11–12. And the house I bought in 1994 for $300,000 is now valued at $1.1 million.
Making yarn requires land to feed the sheep, a shepherd to tend them, a shearer, all the folks who scour, spin, and dye the yarn, someone to sell you the yarn (or take photos and maintain the website through which you buy), and transportation to get the fiber/yarn from one step in the process to the next. Everybody in that supply chain faces the same rising costs for food, housing, fuel, etc.
I think I need to devote a whole post to why yarn costs what it does, and why I believe it's worth it to buy less but buy better. Clearly I have a *lot* to say.
How do we attract new knitters with this price point? I am also seeing lots of stores closing, due to age of owners, also the internet’s impact. I hate to see our whole industry go online. There is the touch factor and eye candy stores provide. Yes please do an article about farm to lys and how the we get the prices we are seeing! You are right, buy less but better quality.
Thank you for the detailed review about this lovely yarn! ♥️
I have wanted to try this yarn, and missed them at H &H. When I am in the knitting doldrums I make striped mittens to donate to local school program. Good to know about this one. Are you beading at Maker Fest?
I think you should order up a couple of skeins to play with.
And no, I won't be beading (though that would be fun). One of my jobs is working in event management for Golden Peak Media, the company that puts on Maker Fest. I'll be spending my week at the registration desk.
Hi Sandi, I'm jealous that you'll be at Maker [Bead] Fest. I was an inveterate beader years ago and I never got the chance to go. This year, I'll be in the northern tier of PA on a hiking/music trip. Maybe next year. Hope it's fun and productive.
I always enjoy this sort of gathering—lots of people indulging their creative impulses! One of my jobs is working in event management for Golden Peak Media, the company that puts on Bead Fest. I'll be spending my week at the registration desk.