Day #1: A Tale of Two Yarns.

Did you know that this week is the second annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week? I didn't! I only found out about it at around 3am this morning (I'm a night owl). Every day this week knitting and crochet bloggers will be writing blog entries on the same topics. You can see the above link for more info if you want to join along. I missed day 1 but apparently that is ok. The topic for day 1 is A Tale of Two Yarns.

One of my favourite yarns is very near and dear to my heart. Briggs and Little is a yarn company from Harvey, New Brunswick, about 50 minutes east of Fredericton, NB (my home town). This company has been around for over 150 years and has always been in the same spot, even though the mill has burned down 4 times. Both my grandmother and mother knitted with Briggs and Little yarns and now I do too.

Briggs & Little Woolen Mills

They make a variety of yarns in different weights and in a lot of colours. You can buy the yarn in many local yarn stores in Canada and the US. I have been lucky enough to go to the outlet store a few times, where all the yarn is sold at a discount. Unfortunately I've never had a tour of the mill as I've only visited in the summer and the mill is closed then.

Briggs & Little Yarn

I love this yarn because it reminds me of home and my history. It's very durable, rustic and great for so many projects. I've made heavy socks, thrummed mittens, felted bowls, and a laptop bag. I have plans to make many other things with Briggs and Little yarn. It can be a bit rough on the hands and sometimes contains a bit of vegetable matter, but that really doesn't bother me. This yarn softens up a lot after washing as well.

One yarn that I want to love but more just like is Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton. I first bought this yarn when searching for something to make a hat for a vegan friend. I loved the feel and colours of this yarn, but it was a bit of a pain to knit with. It sheds, breaks easily and doesn't stand up to frogging or tinking if you make a mistake or need to rework something.

I did finish the hat for my friend but I don't know how it's held up over the years. I made a baby sweater for my nephew with the yarn leftover from that hat and another skein I picked up on clearance at a LYS.

Sweater for my nephew

I liked the sweater but I don't imagine it fit my nephew for very long as he was a big baby! Anyway, the yarn is nice but not nice enough that it has become a favourite of mine.