03-24-2023

Why I play yarn roulette … I’m a huge fan of Jimmy Bean’s significantly discounted OOAK sales. I usually request the safer “neutral” and “cool” categories, but I sometimes choose the “wild cards.” When this arrived, I despaired that I would never figure out what to do with this yarn that features a crazy fluorescent yellow (yellows are my nemeses). I tried to stripe it with a blue/white, but the color pooled so strangely that I frogged it right away. Then, I happened upon this pattern (literally by accident) and realized this is what this yarn was made for. It’s such a fun and rewarding pattern and the crazy yellow actually works well in this context. I couldn’t wait to block it!

JB was kind enough to send me two of these “wild cards,” and I was rather ungratefully like, WTF! They were also different dye lots (presumably prototypes for the official “Comic Book Art” colorway), so I alternated the two skeins through the center section. One skein had a noticeably longer yellow streak and the other had a slightly brighter yellow. The blue speckle was a little different between the skeins as well. I’m so glad I noticed the differences before it was too late (about 1/4 of the way into the project). The slight variations add character to this already charmingly random shawl. I couldn’t be more pleased.

While I love the price of they OOAK prototypes, their real value lies in their ability to get me out of my comfort zone. This is not the first time I’ve risen to the challenge of working with a yarn I’m not crazy about (or even find distasteful) and ended up with something I love.

Here’s an example of anther yarn roulette (discounted mystery cakes from KnitCircus) project that I’m crazy about. I originally started it “just to get rid of the pinks,” and it turned out fabulous. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/rhyolyn/yemaya-shawl

03-24-2023

I’ll post better pictures of this once it dries (and once the weather is nice enough for some outdoor photography).