Faithful readers will remember that I had luckily ordered a silk/wool blend that matched the sequined yarn perfectly. I knew I would use the other skein of TT for a short sleeve version of Sahara, but finding a matching yarn for the body was going to be a little more challenging.I've got TT Exotica in Stony Mist - a greenish, but slightly bluish silk blend with fun green stone chips. It's beautiful, and I love it more than the Disco Lights.
As a first try, I ordered some Classic Elite Classic Silk in Paris Green from WEBS, but that yarn was too greenish-yellow and did match this at all. I'm keeping though cause it's nubby and nice.
I decided that I was probably going to have to go to my LYS to find a match in person. I don't really go to my LYS that much, mostly because I don't love it and would rather get good deals on the internet.
So a few Fridays ago I decided to go there after work. When I arrived at the LYS, the two co-owners were each helping someone, so I browsed the cotton selection. Not much was jumping out or even coming close to matching. Ugh.As I was getting ready to leave, one of the co-owners asked if I had found anything, and I said no. She pulled me aside and started digging through the color cards. The other co-owner was now free and she started pulling every green yarn in the store and bringing it over to my skein of Exotica.
The Debbie Bliss pure silk had a PERFECT match, but I didn't want 100% silk - too warm and too droopy for summer.
We ended up finding Jaeger Roma - a bouncy viscose/ nylon blend that was great too. I scooped up 4 balls at $10.50 a piece and went on my merry way.Out of curiosity, I checked the internet to see what I could have saved had I bought online. WEBS has Roma at closeout for . . . $4.99 a ball. More than half off. Ugh.
My first reaction was to return it and buy from WEBS. But then I started thinking. I never would have ordered this from WEBS anyway, because the colors on their website are never accurate. And after looking at nearly every yarn in the LYS, I realized only 1 or 2 yarns were going to work anyway. It would have taken me many tries and loads of shipping costs to find it if I only ordered online.
I decided to keep the 4 balls. I guess that's what you pay for in the LYS. You help the local economy, keep small businesses going. I don't know if places like WEBS are 'small businesses' or not, but in this case I certainly got what I paid for - excellent service and a perfect match on the first try.
What a pretty shade of green. What great service, too. I rarely go into yarn shops either, what with 4 kids it's too crazy. But sometimes you really have to see and touch.
ReplyDeleteI love it when things like that happen to me! I too enjoy getting things 50% off but like you said, you can't beat the service you got!
ReplyDeleteLove the Yarn too! Green is a great color.
Marly
www.knitthing.blogspot.com
That's going to look beautiful! I finally broke down and bought the pattern. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the colors! I always love to get a good internet deal on yarn but I think you shoul just forget about the Webs sale... what would we do if we couldn't get out and run our fingers over yarn from time to time? We need to keep those local shops open!
ReplyDeleteVery lovely combination...I think it's such pleasant thing be able to fondle a skein before we actually buy it, from time to time!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly it... I usually try to buy online at the best price, too, but you would never have found just the right yarn without the touching and the shade-comparing in person. So now you've tried a great new yarn and if you still love it after you're finished with this project, you can go buy more on sale at WEBS!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad you decided to keep the yarn-you're right the local businesses need to keep customers. I love my LYS because they know sooo much and whenever I have a question, they are always there to help. You can't get that online. I also like seeing and feeling the yarns, this is part of the process that I wouldn't want to miss. Pretty color, by the way. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful yarns--your sweater will be very pretty. I always end up spending more than I had planned when visiting the LYS. It's hard to resist when you are faced with all that yarn in person!
ReplyDelete