# Gateway Fiber/yarns



## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

So I was watching the news this morning, and there was some yahoo on there who lives in Colorado, and took his Girl Scout daughter to a pot shop to stand outside selling cookies. He figured the people would need cookies after the pot was smoked to cure the munchies. Apparently it worked out well for them, as daughter had already sold something like 144 boxes, and was still going strong.
What does this have to do with fiber you may ask? Well, that whole argument about whether or not pot is a gateway drug, got me thinking.
What do you think are "gateway fibers, or yarns" ?

You know what I mean, those easy to get, inexpensive ones, that just make you crave something more?
For me it was cotton, and bamboo. The first natural fiber yarns I could afford.
Just the feel of them slipping through my fingers as I knit or crocheted with them, left me wanting more..
Moved on to real wool then, and now I'm on the hard stuff, silk, cashmere, oh the humanity!!:run:
I've spent literally thousands of dollars on my stash, and I can just sit with it, sniffing the wonderful smells of it, feeling the sqooshiness of it, it's terrible.:shocked:
Not to mention the needles, the wheels, the spindles!!!:dance:

So what do you think was your "Gateway fiber/yarn"?


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

Raw, unclean wool ...... that smell makes me smile , relax , and imagine the possibilities ...... I will buy fleece just for the smell .....


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Real wool. I told my mom we needed sheep so I could knit a sweater when I was 13! ound:


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

a sheep's fleece - that did it. 

One snort and I was a goner.

Addict.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

It was a bulky alpaca yarn for me. I'd bought bulky acrylics before and it showed them up so badly that I became 'hooked'. I then proceeded to buy alpaca (or alpaca blends) in every yarn weight, took them home and rubbed all over them for a couple months. Eventually, I got up the never to actually use some of the them. No going back now.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I should add - I learned to knit with my daughter at a LYS (since has gone out of business) and we STARTED knitting with BlueSky Bulky Alpaca -sooooooooooooo...I pretty much started out on pricey stuff. It was later that I tried to knit with the el cheapo 100% acrylic stuff 

I even bought an extra skein of the $$$ BlueSky Bulky Alpaca in a different color so I could make a second scarf in it later (I still have the skein) :facepalm:


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I think I have always hoarded yarn. Mom taught me to crochet when I was maybe 4 years old. I can't remember ever not wanting more and more yarn. Over the years there have been so many times where a finished item was sold or I got some special orders for baby blankets - and it was literally grocery money or shoes for the kid. 

As far as NICE yarn...the one that did me in and made me wish I could afford to only work with high quality stuff was some alpaca/wool blend that I got from a friend. It was heaven. It was all in it's natural colors...beautiful blending of cream and different shades of brown. It was high quality and down-to-earth all at the same time.


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## CFarmerLady (Dec 1, 2011)

That's the way it was with me, hoarding from a very young age. But I and DM have fallen in love with the bulky microfiber yarns lately. She made a vest on her knitting loom, and I did a baby blanket with a size K hook and 15 rows of Granny square. Fluffy and warm!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Merino, definitely merino. I had only spun on a drop spindle then. The minute I started spinning I knew, just knew, that one day I would have to knit & make a sweater from it. 
Thinking about it, all my spinning efforts have been to that end. Im just about there too.
I have just about the necessary spinning skills. I have the merino too, & a few merino blends. All from my Lys. Also have done a couple of sweaters.
Soon, very soon :rock::rock::rock:


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I started with wool, then had my own bottle baby (PITA) lamb. I traded her back to my friend I got her from (WIHH it was Deb Peterson) for 6 fleeces from her flock plus her lamb fleece. Best deal ever! Then I got hooked on Angora bunnies. Raised them for about 5 years, love their wool. I miss the bunnies and the wool but not the work involved. I'm still hooked on wool, love the smell of a raw fleece.


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## Belldandy (Feb 16, 2014)

Cheap, self-patterning yarn. It amazed me.


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

raw wool! for me too.


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

When I was a child, my grandma taught me how to crochet and my mother taught me how to knit, both with the Red Heart style yarn. As an adult, when things got rough I would take a drive out to the coast and sit on the beach....It was my way of clearing out the cobwebs and "resetting" For years I passed a little specialty yarn shop on my drive out - it was in an old converted house and had alpacas in the field out front. Every time I drove by that shop, I thought to myself how cool it would be to be able to take the fiber off those animals and make your own yarn. I always meant to go into that shop, but never did. One day I drove by and the alpacas were gone, but the sight of that little house still made me think about spinning my own yarn. That thought bounced around my head for quite some time, and I finally decided to give it a go. I put an ad on craigslist for any unwanted raw fleeces and received a call from a local shearer. As soon as I got my first raw fleece I was hooked. I love the smell of a raw fleece....love the process of sorting, carding, combing and eventually spinning. Love it so much I have not been doing much knitting or crocheting


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

DragonFlyFarm,



> love the process of sorting, carding, combing and eventually spinning. Love it so much I have not been doing much knitting or crocheting


I go through phases like that too.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

I've also heard that visiting yarn stores can lead to visiting fiber festivals, which can be very dangerous to your budget.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Okay, forget going to the beach, ya'll can hang out in my attic, instead. I haven't a clue how many fleeces are up there, but enough to keep everyone happy, I'd think. Mostly Merino, Merino/cross & Clun Forest fleeces, although there's a bit of alpaca and Romney in there somewhere, too. I told my DH they'd be good for insulation, so he doesn't even mind. Woot! At some point, I keep thinking I'll take a few out, pick them over and send them off somewhere to be spun, at least the parts that don't stay here to be spun. Friends with sheep is a dangerous thing!

Dunno what the original yarns were, whatever was on sale at the five and dime, I'm sure. That was back when there still were five & dimes. However, the latest batch of fiber craziness started because I wanted something to eat the fast growing Guinea grass in the back yard and my DH wouldn't let me have sheep. (See how mean he is to me?) However, there was room for English angora bunnies! Bwahahahah! Fix the rampant grass and get soft fuzzy fuzzy fiber. What's not to like?


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