Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Summertime...And the Cotton is Easy


I admit it: I bought cotton at Walmart.
I wish I was a fiber-snob. I wish I had a high-end Local-Yarn-Shop where I could lovingly fondle expensive handpainted fibers hand-spun off the backs of elegant alpacas, sheeps, and silkworms.
But I don't.
I have the internet, which offers non-tactile and high-postage yarn of all types.
I have Ace Hardware which occasionally yields a bit of wool or on-sale cotton next to it's horrific "art yarns" and sparkley ribbons.
And then there is Walmart, which has Lion Brand (won't go there after the disappointing chenille), Red Heart acrylic, sparkley art yarns, and one tiny little shelf of Peaches & Creme Cotton! After a recent foray into Mason-Dixon Global Knitting Universe, I have come around to the delights of cotton. The ease of use, the many colors, the coolness for hot climates, and the cheap prices in local stores. I also enjoy the relaxed ease of working with cheap cotton. This attitude allows for hand-knit dishcloths and bathmats, and opens every inch of life to the possibilities of handknits.
I would never even think about knitting a dishcloth out of handspun alpaca-silk.
While the fiber-snob in me longs for luxury, my reality is more country: I live in a cowboy town on old ranchland. I am awakened at night by the bitching of the neighbor's cows. Wild turkeys are roosting under my porch as we speak. There is a hitching post at the Post Office. And I just swooped up bags full of Bernat cotton on sale at the hardware store for 67 cents a skein! Ye Haw Y'all!

5 comments:

Lisa B (Moon) said...

Aaaaand not to mention..you can custom dye your cotton yarn too!

I love cheap yarn.....
xo Moon

Kel said...

Oooooooooh! I didn't even think about that! And they had cones of white, too! The Kool-Ade is calling to me...Thanks for the wicked idea! Nuthin says summer like cotton and Kool-Ade!

Acornbud said...

You sound like you are in Waimea. If so, drive to Hilo and check out Big Island Bernina. I loved that store on my one visit there. But, hey, at 67 cents/skein you can't go wrong, and those dishclothes make equally good wash clothes for the shower.

Unknown said...

Hee, I think we've been to that Walmart (is there only one on the Big Isle?) when we on vacation there almost a couple years ago.

But as a mother of 2, cotton yarn, especially when machine washable, is a good thing. :)

Kel said...

Yup Yup Yup! I do live in cowtown, and I think there is a WalMart in both Hilo and Kona (I don't go often...WalMart makes me nervous...Can't see daylight, never feel hope again...)
I have been to the yarn store in Hilo once, (I only get to Hilo about twice a year) and I left there with arms full of sock merino and a hefty credit card bill! Nice! I would be in real trouble if I lived around the corner from that shop!