Dye For Yarn Merino/Baby Camel yarn review

The lovely ladies at DyeForYarn/DyeForWool very kindly sent me a hank of yarn to review here on my blog.  They did not pay me for my review, so everything written here is my honest opinion about this yarn.  The yarn is their Merino/BabyCamel fingering weight yarn in the colorway Dyeing Rose (click here to be taken to their Etsy page for this specific yarn, in all the lovely colorways!).

first impressions

The yarn shipped very quickly all the way from Germany!  It arrived in a beautiful hank.

reviewhankIsn’t it gorgeous?  Here’s a close-up of the tags:

reviewtagsYou can see that this single-ply fingering weight yarn is made of 55% Merino superwash and 45% baby camel.  The hank is 100g and 480m (525yd).  These hanks are currently selling for $25.13 USD, which is a very reasonable price for the yardage you get and the fact that this yarn is hand dyed and everything.

Here it is after I used my new ball winder to wind it into a handy cake (and I should mention that there was not a single knot to be found in the whole hank):

reviewcake

working with this yarn

I knitted a hat with this yarn (more details on the specifics in a bit), and I very much enjoyed the experience.  The yarn is soft (a pleasant but not necessarily common attribute in wool yarns), and it has a beautiful, ethereal halo.  There was a little shedding of fibers during the knitting process, but it was not bad at all — it didn’t even make me sneeze and it didn’t get fuzz all over my clothes like some yarns do.  Since I used the magic loop method, I pulled the first/last stitches of each half of the hat tightly to try to avoid ladders up the sides of my hat, and the yarn turns out to be very strong.  This makes it a higher quality yarn in my estimation, since other single-ply yarns I’ve used have been pretty easy to pull apart.

the knitted product

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The hat pattern is called Plume Beanie and it is free to download on Ravelry.  It has a very long ribbed edge which is meant to be casually folded/pushed on top of itself, and a lace pattern that is not too complicated.

reviewfinished2

I went up a couple of needle sizes to obtain the correct gauge, although I think I still slightly undershot it and would use one more size up if I made it again (details here on my project page).  Even so, the finished hat is amazing and the pattern was the perfect choice for this yarn.  There’s even over half of the ball left, so I’ll be able to make something else too!

reviewfinished1

the verdict

This is definitely one of the best fingering weight yarns I’ve ever used, if not THE best.  The next time I need some more fingering weight yarn, this Merino/BabyCamel yarn by DyeForYarn will probably be what I go for (perhaps in another beautiful colorway, or maybe I’ll try their other yarns, too)!  The owners Nicole and Cordula are so nice and prompt, which only adds to my desire to shop with them again.  To you dear readers I say give it a go — it’s worth every penny!

reviewfinished3

I hope you enjoyed my first official yarn review, thank you so much for stopping by!

A Made in China Giveaway

Look at this great giveaway! It’s easy to enter, so head on over and check it out!

Verónica's avatarAgujas

One of my favorite pastimes in China was shopping in local markets. The chaotic aisles and aggressive salespeople in the touristy markets got old after a while. The local markets were much calmer. They were still busy but mostly filled with locals who needed basic household items. While haggling was still expected, the starting prices were usually much more reasonable.

As I wandered the aisles, I found these bags that I thought would be perfect for knitting projects. There were all sorts of patterns and color schemes. The size is just right for 4-5 balls of yarn and a small project, like a hat or scarf.

China Knitting Bag

I love the drawstring top and inside zippered catchall pocket.

China Knitting Bag Drawstring
China Knitting Bag Interior

It’s easy to clean – just wipe with a damp cloth. It has this nifty side pocket for needles or a pattern.

China Knitting Bag Outside Pocket

Then I came across these tin pencil boxes. Some had hinged lids…

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giveaway winner announced!

It’s time for the drawing for NYAC’s second ever giveaway!  Congratulations to the author of the blog

happytomakeyou

winnerTo the winner: please e-mail me at davish14 (AT) winthrop (DOT) edu and include your full name and address so that I can mail you your prize!  Please do this by Thursday Nov. 28, or I will need to draw another winner.  Congratulations again!

Thank you everyone for entering, and if you were not the winner, there’s always next time!  I love having giveaways so there will be more chances in the future for sure!

 

loopy doopy misery and fun

Being sick sucks.  Something came on all of a sudden yesterday and I had a fever during the night.  Now I’m just stuck with a runny nose and clogged sinuses, which usually leads to chronic ear infections.  I’m on a decent number of medications and am feeling a bit loopy.  Kinda like “WHEEE!” and “UGH!” at the same time.

On the bright side, I think I’m going to love my job!  We get free lunches every day, flexible schedules, insurance benefits, paid vacation time and sick days, and my coworkers are great, not to mention the interesting times with clients!  I don’t often do selfies but here’s me at my desk!

first week of workThe lime colored Patagonia vest was from the thrift store that our program operates, but it’s closing so one of my coworkers snagged this for me!  They’re already accepting me and it feels so nice to be liked!  🙂

So do you have things that you specifically like about your job, or are you working in a place that makes you unhappy?   And how many of you are stay-at-home moms or “housewives?”  I’m just curious because it seems to me that ladies who are all about family consumer sciences (that’s what they call home-ec these days) or being at home are the ones who knit and crochet the most (although I have seen a couple of business women knitting in public over the years).

Speaking of knitting in public, I saw a lady knitting in the waiting room of the allergist’s office yesterday.  I kept trying to watch her because I was curious, but I think she noticed and thought I was staring at her in a way that connotates that knitting is stupid (which, as we all know, is not the truth).  Do you feel like people look at you in a snobbish way when you knit/crochet in front of others?

Well I’ve rambled enough — there wasn’t even anything project related in this post!  That will be remedied next time.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!

 

a hat and my new job

I started my new job this week, and it’s going very well!  Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words last week when I was so nervous.  I’m still a little nervous because there are still so many things to learn, but the people I work with are great and I’ve enjoyed my days there so far.

My needles have been busy but I can’t share everything yet — I’ve finished some Christmas presents but the intended recipients might just visit my blog here!  My dad probably won’t, though, so I’ll chance showing you his Christmas present:

gsb2It’s a very stretchy hat knit on US size 10 needles with chunky yarn (I used Berroco VIntage Chunky).  The pattern is called Giftie Slouchie Beanie and it is free.

gsb1

It looks good on men and women, and I’m in the process of making a green one as well (but I’m not sure who that’ll go to).

My Mom’s Christmas present is finished but I can’t share it yet because she might see it here.  I’ve also started a project that’s sort of a secret — it involves a big yarn review at the end!  So basically I have a few WIPs, none of which are the Christmas ornaments I told myself I’d make to give as gifts…

Just as a reminder, the drawing for the giveaway will take place on the 25th — that’s only 5 more days!  Don’t forget to enter!