Joyce Makes Art

Plucky, Plucky, Plucky (The Plucky Knitter, That Is)

Six months or so I stumbled across a yarn brand I had never head of before, The Plucky Knitter.  The colors looked intriguing, the prices looked high.  But, as I kept seeing mention of this yarn in patterns I was looking at or projects I came across, I started to read more.

The dyer was experienced and reliable.  She had developed such a following over time that she was having yarns custom milled for her.  And the yarns themselves were wonderful blends -- merino and cashmere, merino and silk, and a few with yak or other wonderous fibers mixed in.

And, then, of course, I shopped.

The yarn is sold in a clever way, through blog updates that center around color, fiber, new pattern, and other themes.  There is a bit of a carnival atmosphere and it's almost as fun to shop as it is to open the boxes when they arrive!

I'm planning to knit a shawl in one of the yarns I've just received as my first Plucky project.  But I can tell just from looking and fondling this yarn that I'm hooked.

New (to Me) Yarn Brand: Brooklyn Tweed

I've not knit with Brooklyn Tweed before, but I'm about to.

I thought it started with this hat, the Bray Cap.

As soon as I saw it, I fell in love and had to knit it.  I knit one of Flood's hat patterns a couple of years ago, and it rates among my most enjoyable knits.  So I was eager to go again.  And, the pattern yarn was so pretty, that I decided to look it up and order it. (Thanks to the kind folks at Brooklyn Tweed for letting me use their picture)

The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter, a 100% American Wool with a nice twist that gives it a rustic look.  I'm not much of an orange person, so I ordered it in a red color called Long Johns.  It's really pretty, don't you think?

It's gorgeous and I love it.  But, the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted the beautiful orange color, Ember, for my hat.  So, um, all thoughts of knitting only from stash this year aside, I ordered the orange.

I adore it.  The color.  The fiber.  It is the yarn of my dreams for this hat, and I can't wait to cast on.

As I petted the yarn over the weekend, I kept getting the funniest feeling I had seen it before.  It turns out it didn't start when I saw the Bray Cap.  I realized that on a trip through New England a couple of years back, I had picked up eight skeins of this same yarn in Pumpernickel at Webs, thinking it would make a nice short cardigan, like this one.  I've been meaning to knit this sweater for ages, and I love this yarn.  I'm going to wind a skein and put it into my swatching basket for later this week, but in the meantime, I'm getting ready to knit Bray.

Have you knit with this yarn and what do you think?  I can't wait to get started with it.