Monday, July 27, 2009

If your cooler breaks, knit a hat

We don't have central AC. Just evaporative cooling. Which works fine in the desert if the humidity is low....and of course if it works at all.... It went out on Saturday, and 100 degree heat with no cooler is not considered an emergency by the apartment complex. So I sat in my room and knit a hat. Nothing complicated...88 stitch cast on, rolled brim, and some color work thrown in. I like the decreases, tho, which are knit to within four sts of your decrease. K2tog, YO, K2tog. My BFF would complain about the holes and his head is freezing, but for the majority of us, it's just enough of a design to be cute!

So, the never ending put down of knitters that use acrylic yarns has again risen to the surface. I was told that my inability to afford as much wool yarn as I would like is not that acrylic is less expensive, it's that I don't know how to budget my discretionary money. My income is less than $500 and from that I have to pay two major bills, my son's allowance, feed my animals, and then, if there is money left over, or I save for a couple of months, I can buy yarn.

Now, I knit to keep my hands busy. It's not a choice, it's a necessity, called stimming, related to my autism. I knit alot...hours on end sometimes. I go through a lot of yarn. If I, as this person seemed to think I should, use only wool yarn, I just plain couldn't afford to knit. And that's not gonna happen. Acrylic yarn provides me with the opportunity to knit alot, afford to do that knitting, and keeps lots of people on the Cheyenne River Reservation, Eagle Butte, SD, warmer. People just never realized others are bad off in this economy and those of us that were bad off before are now worse off...

5 comments:

  1. Nice hat! I can't believe that that person would say that to you. There are some nice acrylics out there "Red Heart So Soft". Anyway, could this be the same person the Yarn Harlot blogged about yesterday. Read it...pretty scary.

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  2. Great hat! I'm into making hats, too. A change of pace from socks. :-)

    I just got done knitting a hat from the top-down. It was a lot of fun. I started w/DPNs, then switched to a Cir. Now, I'm making another hat via the ML. Have a look:

    http://luvsknitting.blogspot.com/2009/07/finished-hat-from-top-down.html

    Don't worry about what the yarn snobs have to say about acrylic yarns. It was good enough for my grandma & it was good enough for my mom, so it's good enough for me. I knit for my mental well-being, too. There's lots of lovely synthetic yarn out there & not everyone can tolerate wool even in the least little bit.

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  3. As if how you spend your money or the yarn you buy is anyone else's business.

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  4. First of all, for Ms Yarn Snob's information, acrylic yarns have change A LOT in the last 10 years or so. MANY are softer and nicer to the touch than most wools could hope to be.

    Second of all, wool is not a good choice for many projects. There are many people with wool sensitivities out there. And I would NEVER consider making baby things out of ANYTHING but acrylic. Easy to care for, and no sensitivity problems with delicate skin.

    AND... if you can make hats, mittens and scarves for dozens of Rez kids by using acrylic instead of a few projects in wool - you are using your yarn money more wisely than she. Tell her that the next time she questions your budgeting techniques! :p

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  5. Acrylic vs wool - One group I contribute to insists on acrylic. A reservation I contributed to in the past requested natural fibers, not acrylic. (?) I'll use whatever is called for or I can afford.

    I admire you for stimming so productively (thank you for that link), and in your circumstances, I think you are very generous to share with others in need. Instead of shamed, you should be commended!

    If you would like some yarn from my stash (I'm trying to reduce), let me know and I'll see what I can find. (Preferences? color? fiber? weight?)

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I really am glad you're commenting. Please make sure I can find you by insuring you leave an e-mail address. It's so frustrating to have someone ask a question and no way to answer them! Thanks!