Sunday, April 27, 2008

What $3 Will Buy You

A couple of weeks ago, I grabbed some kiwis at the supermarket. I hadn't seen them in awhile, and since both kids love them, I thought I'd get a bunch. And then I noticed the price. $1.89. Per kiwi. What?!! I don't really watch food prices very closely, but I know for sure that kiwis were 4 for a dollar last year. I distinctly remember using them to help my daughter practice her multiplication, as in: "If you can get 4 kiwis for $1 and you have $3, how many kiwis can you buy?" The answer now would be 1.6 kiwis. Wow!

Well, it's nice to know you can still catch a break in today's economy. I finished my Drop Stitch Lace Tank using the Feza Lisa I brought home as a souvenir from Los Angeles. I had never heard of this yarn before but thought it would work well for this pattern. Turns out I'm only the 2nd person on Ravelry to use it in a project, and the 1st person had only used it as fringe on a novelty scarf. Yes, it's synthetic, but it's one of the more tame novelty yarns. It is a very stretchy nylon tape yarn that is mostly matte but has a single shiny thread running down the middle of the yarn. I think the stretchiness will help this piece hold its shape over time. I had admired Lilybeth's version using Berroco Softwist, which also has a bit of subtle shine, and I wanted that extra little touch. Yes, breathability is a factor when considering a nylon yarn for a summery project, but luckily, this pattern has its own built-in ventilation. Yes, this does have a tendency to snag, but it hasn't been hard to be careful so far. And yes, it does twist around something awful while you knit with it. I had to keep stopping and untwisting my yarn. Actually, I would hold up the yarn with the work-in-progress dangling down, and I would just give it a few good spins around to unwind it--kinda like a tire swing. In the end, I got a top for less than the price of 1.6 kiwis. Can't beat that! More details are in the gallery.

13 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Yours came out sooo much better than mine. Love the color. I can't believe you made it for $3?!

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  2. Wow -- I love how this project came out! It looks smashing on you, too.

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  3. great job. Very cool to see it finished after seeing you knit on it. It looks amazing on you.

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  4. It's beautiful on you! Perfect fit. And good job on making great use of a novelty yarn. Those things always leave me scratching me head :)

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  5. Wow! That sure doesn't look like novelty yarn to me. Really wonderful, and perfect to wear right now.

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  6. If you didn't tell us how much you spent on yarn, I would have guessed much more. It always seems to take more yarn to do lace than I would typically expect. Beautiful fit on you. Tanks are the perfect thing to be making now.

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  7. Beautiful! I love this -- and I love that you saw the potential in the yarn with this pattern. Great color too!

    WOW . . . I hadn't priced kiwis lately. Had NO idea. But now I'm craving it!

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  8. I love it! Thanks for posting your mods in the gallery.

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  9. I love the tank!

    Kiwi's were definitely 4 for a dollar last year. The price of food rising like crazy which is awful. But then again in someways we're finally experiencing some of the daily struggles many people not as fortunate as Americans experience. Maybe it will make us appreciate things a little more as a society. Still stinks though.

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  10. That is such a beautiful top! It's nice to see that a nylon yarn can turn out into such a pretty FO.

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  11. Pretty tank! It looks good on you, and like it will be really versatile for casual wear and for a bit more formal.

    Maybe kiwis will go down in price later in the summer?

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  12. That's a true beauty. And it's a perfect tank for the upcoming summer. Congratulations!

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  13. It turned out so beautifully! Really flattering. Good call on the yarn : )
    Food is definitely getting more expensive.

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