There's Acrylic and Then There's Acrylic!

 This week in the pop up store we are featuring James C. Brett yarns from the UK.

On the left when you walk into the store, you will find all the Flutterby, a 100% polyester chenille yarn that works to the same gauge as Bernat Blanket but is so much softer and drapey. It is the best yarn (in my humble opinion) for baby blankets, and I have also used it in a simple kid's T-shirt pattern. 

To round out the colour choices, I have included Universal Bella Chenille which is basically the same yarn but comes in a smaller ball (120m vs 176m). Also on that side is the chunkier Flutterby Animal Prints which will appeal to those with a wilder side. 😉

On the right side you will find the acrylic yarn known as 'the wool lover's acrylic'. As a person who works with yarn, you know that it is difficult to buy yarn without touching it first. The 'hand' of a yarn can make all the difference to whether or not the finished product is loved to death or thrown in the corner or pushed to the back of a closet never to be seen again.

For those, like me, who have trouble working with non-Merino wool and only had the scratchy wool to choose from as a beginner knitter, acrylic was the go to yarn. To be fair, things have changed but, in the '70's, a lot of that yarn felt like plastic. Some still does. James C. Brett's line of Marble yarns, on the other hand, does not feel like plastic. It feels like a quality, non-itchy wool to those who prefer the natural fibres. Hence, it's nickname. 

That side has also been rounded out with some Marble wannabe's from other manufacturers and, while the colours are on par with the quality one would expect from JCB, you will notice, upon handling, that some of them are slightly more plastic-y than the Marble yarns.

You will also notice that a number of my patterns make use of these JCB yarns so check those out too while you're in the store this week.

written by Lori, tardy TCL owner, who neglected to realize it was Monday until after supper, so I apologize for the late blog entry. I'll try to not let it happen again.