Impeccable is not flawless

As a matter of fact this yarn has made me veer directly into yarn snob territory.  The yarn I speak of is the newish Impeccable line by Michael's craft stores sold under their Loops & Threads label.  I am using this crap yarn to make a Fresh Picked Color cardigan for Lil' Miss to have for her first day of school in a few weeks.  We picked this yarn (I say we meaning I pointed out colors I liked and she hugged those she liked as well) because it was the best color in a worsted weight yarn that Michael's had in stock the day we went shopping.  I don't think I can quite find the words to express my dismay at using this to make an actual garment but I shall try.  Don't get me wrong, each yarn has it's purpose in life, I have used it successfully for a hat and a few amigurumi toys (most notably my crochet fortune cookies), I just don't think this yarn is a good match for clothing.

the buttons are my favorite part of the sweater

It is so stiff and unyielding it is like knitting with crafters cotton which I normally only use for crochet work as it is just so hard on my hands.  There is no give to it as there is with wools, blends, or even the nicer cottons I have used, it doesn't seem to stretch at all when you hold the yarn between your fingers and give a little pull.  Thankfully it isn't 'squeaky' for me as other Raveler's have complained of, I think because I use only wood needles (the clicking of metal needles is kinds like nails on a chalkboard to me, not soothing at all!).  The fabric coming off of my needles seems rather stiff as well, not the soft, flowy feel of a little girl cardigan I was going for.  Here is to hoping this softens up a LOT after washing.  One positive thing I can say about this yarn is that the stitch definition is quite nice so far.

Someone is happy with it at least!

 After getting only about 2 inches knit over a few days (I kept abandoning it in favor of other wips just so I didn't have to touch that yarn) I decided to put on my big girl panties and just work on the darn thing to get the misery over with.  Lil' Miss wanted her sweater done in time for school so I better get cracking right?  Much to my surprise I got it done in just a few more days, apparently using yarn I don't like makes me work faster, who would have guessed?  Happily after being run through the washer and dryer it has softened up considerably, I am actually rather surprised at how soft it came out.  Now the garment flows and moves like I had imagined the fabric for her finished cardigan should.  I still will not use it again for garments due to the experience of knitting with it.  I knit to relax, so I don't kill people or yell at my rugrats so using distasteful yarn doesn't really augment the experience of knitting for me.

Working with it did convince me of one thing, the act of knitting should be fun and enjoyable for me so even if I am making something for the kids I will no longer buy the cheapest stuff I can find.  I realized that my favorite sweater for Lil' Miss cost $25 from Carters three years ago, so it would make sense for that to be a guideline for the cost of the yarn to make them something (we won't even go into labor costs as that would just be silly!).  Thus I won't get the uber fancy stuff like say, Madelinetosh Tosh dk (will drool damage my keyboard?) but I can afford to purchase good quality yarns from Knit Picks or fancier yarns that are on sale or clearance instead of the bargain yarns at the local craft superstore.  The best part of this decision is that Mister Vonkysmeed is on board with the idea and already approved my recent spending spree at WEBS (ooh, can a virtual credit card melt!?).