On being popular.

Yes, all the knitting and quilting around here is "quaint," "so old-school," and maybe even possibly "the new yoga." You'd think these relatively small communities would be easy to navigate, controversy-free, and we're all linked arm-in-arm while drinking Coke.

But really, not everyone drinks Coke. Some drink Diet Coke, some drink Coke Zero, and some drink Best Choice Cola. These crafting worlds aren't only about the craft, but about the supplies you use to make said crafts. Every knitter and quilter has a different opinion about what they like, and, especially on crafting blogs, supply snobbery runs pretty rampant.

I'm a yarn snob. I know this, I embrace this, and god help me when I try to explain the value to non-knitters. While I do have a secret love for Red Heart (crocheted blankets only), I am drawn to the soft and squishy things: Madelinetosh, Louet, Blue Moon, Handmaiden, and Fleece Artist. The base of my stash is Cascade 220, a good workhorse yarn that has as many colors as the day is long. Would I knit a sweater out of Lion Brand Homespun (again? That was a disaster.)? No. I'm rather picky about my yarn and I'm okay with that because it makes me so happy.

Fabric, however, is a different matter. In my short quilting life, I have made a quilt from chain-store fabrics, and it turned out great. Since then, I've heard tell of the perils of using non-boutique quality fabrics, and I'm inclined to listen. I don't want my quilt falling apart, and if I'm going to spend hundreds of hours on something, I should at least use quality materials, right? I'm all for that.

What I don't understand is the passion behind a particular designer or print. Yes, I, too, love Lizzy House's Castle Peeps (so wee! so cute!), but would I pay crazy mark-up at the end of a run? Probably not. I don't scour for the fabrics needed to complete a designer's collection. I don't buy entire collections at once. And I really don't understand the whole Denyse Schmidt thing. I love her book - it made quilting seem doable and I've used it so many times - but her design asthetic isn't me. So I'm suprised when I read about people rushing to JoAnn to get her new line of chain-store fabric even before it's officially on the shelves.

Why am I not one of those people? I think I should be, or at least I have the potential to be, due to my yarn proclivities. I like to buy things, pretty things, and they're kind of a trophy for me. Why don't I want an entire line of fabric? Why do I think 'You are insane," when I see others spinning in circles trying to win that final fat quarter on eBay, yet I'll hunt Ravelry long and hard for that particular skein of yarn?

I think it comes down to a few things:

1. I'm really more of a solid fabric kind of girl. I have prints, I buy prints, but I always go to the solids first.

2. Fabric is still kind of scary to me. If you mess up your knitting, just rip it out and start over. But if I make a wrong cut, that fabric is still cut. NEVER TO BE UNCUT. That's terrifying. What if I had some good-as-gold fabric that I mismeasured and cut wrong and then everything was ruined?

3. The thought of cutting into an entire collection of fabric, as opposed to just one I really like, is terrifying. That's why it takes me a long time to get the nerve up to start/work on a quilt.

What do you think? What fabrics are you trying to nab? What prompts you to go to the ends of the Earth for a fabric, yarn, or book? Why is it suddenly "okay" to buy fabric at JoAnn just because Denyse Schmidt's fabric is there? Why am I not sleeping in my own bed yet?

Comments

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"loved this walk with you!
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looking forward to hunting some sun/moon shine with you too!"