Sunday 7 June 2015

"Ooh, like that...

"Where did you get that from..." "Is it for you..." and "Those colours are...."
There were more comments yesterday on the Japanese yarn I am knitting up for a friend. The younger members of the guild I belong tended to know where the yarn might have come from. The company in question does produce a rather distinctive line of yarns. The younger members are also more likely to travel to places where these yarns might be found, have the money to buy them and be willing to use them. I can understand the caution of some of the older members of the guild, particularly those who rely on the pension.
It was the question about whether it was for me and the remarks about colour that I found more interesting. No, definitely not for me. It is not the sort of thing I would wear at all. My taste is rather more conservative than that.
And the colours would not suit me at all. I simply couldn't wear them. 
One of the best knitters in the guild - and she is a master or mistress of the art - gave me a quick smile behind someone who was asking me the same questions as several others in quick succession. She was well aware of what I was using, who it was likely to be for and that the colours did not suit me. I let her have a closer look. 
It's a vest. The design is very simple because the yarn is what needs to "speak". It also needs to be simple enough for "the general public" to feel confident they could knit it, finish it, and wear it. The yarn is not cheap.
I know that, even if I design something simple, not everyone will want to spend that amount of money. They will go for something they already "know". I don't blame them for that.
It gave rise to another thought though. I suspect it is rather the same with books. People tend to look for the same authors in the way they look for the same yarns. I know. I have heard people in the library asking for more of an author and have had them tell me they have read "all" of a prolific author. The local library has little posters on the ends of the shelves suggesting authors who are "like" other authors. Yes, I have been guilty of reading those little posters and then at the authors they suggest when I have been short of time or tired or just in need of a comfort read. I do try to read widely but sometimes it is nice to have a new book by an author I know, like, and respect.
There is comfort in familiarity.
 

2 comments:

Jan said...

That yarn may have beautiful colour changes in it, but it makes my arthritic fingers ache as it passes through them. I find it rough. Then the knots! Far too many of them and often the colour change is abrupt. Expensive too.

I admire goods made from it, but know now never to use it.

catdownunder said...

this particular lot (Taiyo) is soft enough Jan but it has no elasticity. The knots have not, so far, been a problem in this lot but they were in the previous lot of yarn (Silk Garden sock - which I would never contemplate for socks!)Thankfully I do not have to pay for it as I generally consider the price outrageous.