there is no 'free lunch'

don't i know it!!

isn't this an adorable baby sweater? soooooo cute and quick to knit!

the pattern is from the book, 101 designer one-skein wonders, and is titled 'feather-and-fan baby sweater' designed by kimberly conterio. a well written pattern that was easy to follow and fast to knit with no seams to sew - being seamless puts it way high on my list!!

here's the rub - the yarn sucks!! it was like knitting with straw - it truly felt 'yucky'!

and why did i use this yarn? because it was a 'freebie'! when will i learn my lesson - there is no 'free lunch'! in hindsight, which is 20/20 of course, i should have just tossed the skein in the goodwill bag and got on my way, but, ohhhhhh noooooo, 'waste not, want not'!! so i decided to knit this little number to contribute to an upcoming silent auction. my conclusion after enduring this yarn is, (mark my words) never, never, never again! the old adage 'you get what you pay for' is definitely true in this case. i am too much of a tactile person - if it doesn't feel good to the touch in the skein, hey, it ain't gonna get any better when you knit with it!

i've learned my lesson, hopefully, but this whole experience makes me wonder, "how many new knitter's, trying the craft for the very first time, have picked up this yarn, needles and a beginning knitting pamphlet at a big box store (kmart or walmart) instead of a lys and have been totally turned off by the difficulty of using this yarn?" i'm willing to bet that it has been more than i want to imagine!!

i find this so sad! a future that could be filled with hours and hours and hours of knitting enjoyment ruined by a single skein of crummy yarn! truly a travesty!