there's a new yarn in town

i was on one of my weekly (or biweekly) trips to joann fabrics when i saw a new endcap of yarn that made my heart skip! the author of the wonderful book that taught me to crochet has created a new line of yarn. all natural. clever names. gorgeous colors. peruvian sheep's wool. alpaca. bamboo. oh the wonder of it all! i bought one of each type and brought them home to find out what these yarns are made of. 

the colors alone are enough to make you swoon! 

first the facts: 

$4.99/skein. 

the alpaca is a 3 oz/132 yard skein. 

wool & bamboo are both 3.5 oz skeins. 

wool is 155 yards, bamboo is 177 yards. 

all three are medium weight yarns. 

the alpaca calls for an I-9 crochet hook while the bamboo & wool suggest a size K-10 1/2.

so i pulled out my hook (size G) - which is smaller than they suggest but it's my favorite- and crocheted a little swatch of each type of yarn using my new favorite: seed stitch. i use a variation that repeats single crochet and a chain in the first row. in the next row you sc into the chain and so on. i love the stitch because it's fairly closed and yet still soft and stretchy unlike a full swatch of single crochet.

so....the swatches all turned out about the same size. and they're purty. take a look (sorry about the sun coming through the blinds...a professional photographer i am not!)

 

so here's the verdict: 

third place- alpaca love (shown here in "fern").

this yarn is actually only 20% alpaca- with the other 80% being wool. that makes it lighter than a yarn with more alpaca but also scratchier. it feels a bit like a polyester yarn with more fiber to it. i liked it but it's not as cozy as i was hoping for alpaca.

second place- full o' sheep (shown here in "meadow")

this is 100% peruvian wool and my favorite color out of ALL the stitch nation yarns. for a 100% wool yarn i'm impressed by its softness, but it's still a bit scratchy. i also love the look of this yarn in its skein and wouldn't mind just looking at it all pretty in its wrapper- but once i started using it the yarn got fairly fuzzy. this would be an issue if anything needed to be pulled out and redone (which i do often)

first place- bamboo ewe (shown here in "mermaid")

this fabulous yarn is 55% viscose from bamboo and 45% wool making it the perfect blend of warmth and cuddly softness. it still has a bit of scratch to it, but i would definitely wear it up against my skin. no fuzzing issues either. this was the smallest of the swatches- which could be my inability to keep the tension the same. i have since purchased "sprout" and i'm hoping to get "mercury" as soon as i have another 50% off coupon ($2.50 for all natural yarn is wonderful!). then i shall make something wonderful. not sure what yet.

so there you have it. one new yarn brand. three new yarns. all wonderful. one winner. great idea debbie stoller!