Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Not Making This A Habu

Have you read Linda's blog? I only just discovered it and, so far, I seem to be very impressionable, as far as it's concerned. For instance, Linda recently wrote about this chic (read: very cool, NYC-meets-Japanese, not inexpensive) yarn boutique, Habu Textiles. Of course, I was intrigued. Then I checked out the link (suggestion: just don't click). And now I own these:

These safety pins don't have the "collar" that catches yarn when you use them as either stitch markers or holders for wrapped yarn when doing Japanese short rows.
This shawl pin should work nicely to affix the Sisika Scarf. It's about 2 inches long. Very light.

Yeah, some more variegated yarn. I guess I'm going through some kind of phase...
Here's what you need to know:
  • The parcel arrived rather quickly and well-packaged.
  • The shawl pin, while lovely, cost way too much money for what it is - essentially a safety pin. I don't care if it is light and sleek. Really, it shouldn't have cost more than 9 bucks, IMO.
  • The yarn - and I wish I'd known this before ordering cuz it sure isn't clearly (or otherwise, as far as I can tell) indicated on the website - is actually Malabrigo. Um, practically everything they sell is "Habu brand and made". How is it that I managed to get the only thing they don't make? I could have bought Malabrigo in 5 shops within 5 kilometers of where I live. I didn't need to source it from hipster-expensive-land USA?! Look, I've been wanting to try Malabrigo, as it happens. Everyone's always on about how terrific it is. But getting it like this seems vaguely disappointing. 
  • The yarn does not look variegated on the website. I did call the shop to find out if it was variegated (other yarns in the series are) and I was told yes, but only extremely mildly. Turns out that everyone's interpretation of extremely mild is extremely different. I think this stuff is crazily variegated. So much so that the old me - she of 2 weeks ago - would have freaked out and resold this on Ravelry. The new me is all: I use variegated yarn and I'm down with it as long as it looks cool and intentional as opposed to, say, natural.
  • Ain't no way this yarn is treated. It's pure merino and it feels much less soft and drapey, at least prior-to-washing and on the skein, than any superwash I've ever bought. This is yet another thing I'm going to have to develop an appreciation for. Mind you, I suspect it will actually hold its freakin' shape. And if I choose the right project, it could work out very well. (Intriguingly - and I'll tell you soon about some cashmere that I bought in early fall - untreated cashmere is about 8 zillion times softer and more luscious than merino any day, she says with practically no experience of either.)
  • Habu is happy to offer you a 5% discount on all regular-priced yarn BUT, if you order anything else with the yarn order (and ask me how I know) the yarn discount is rescinded. What the fuck? When's the last time you were penalized for spending more??
On balance, gotta say this shop isn't going to be on my regular go-to list of yarn vendors. I may well order from there again, if I actually find a Habu-made yarn that I desperately want, or if I need some kind of specialized product (like the safety pins) that are hard to find elsewhere, but I'm going to exhaust all other options first. The service I received was not bad. The product I purchased is not inferior. But I really didn't get the experience I signed up for.

25 comments:

  1. I know Habu! It's sold as Avril in Japan - my sister had me track down their hole-in-the-wall shop in a trendy part of Tokyo to buy her the weirdest yarn I could find! I think I got her paper and wood yarn? Can't quite remember... I saw that at least one Canadian store carried Habu stuff at the Waterloo Knit Fair this year, so you should be able to go find some in person before you buy. Here's a link to a scraf my sister knit from whatever that retailer is... She could tell you if you are interested!
    http://anniebeeknits.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/kusha-kusha/

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    1. How interesting that it's called Avril (a French sounding name) in Japan and Habu (a Japanese sounding name) in America. Marketing... It IS totally weird yarn. And I was hoping to cache in on that but with not so weird yarn cuz I can't really get with weird (it's like variegated in my mind). And then I got the most ubiquitous stuff evah. Well, when you're a novice, you have to make mistakes in order to learn.

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    2. I am Habu/Avril fan (and the proof is my last post). It's a totally different experience to come to the shop and touch different types of yarn vs. buying fibres from an online shop. I am totally addicted to Habu yarn now! I've even ordered some from Habu Textiles for a trial because Avril is really tiny. By the way, paper yarn is just fantastic for the summer!

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    3. Oooh, great info about Avril. Thanks!

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  2. Gah! Darn you and your enabling ways! I clicked the link and learned that Habu is just a 5 minute walk from my office. No good (at least for my wallet) can come of this discovery! ;-)

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    1. Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't love me right now. But seriously, at least you won't have to pay for shipping. And you can buy yarn in its own order and get the discount, no problem. And, really, what are you doing if you're not getting to know the resources of your city better :-)

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  3. What a strange policy to remove the discount when you buy more. It's not like 5% is a huge discount to begin with. Weird.

    So, as someone who likes paying for expensive things, this didn't make you more excited? ;) (note tongue firmly in cheek).

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    1. Ha! I did briefly think that :-) But you know how uptight I am about shipping. So it was to defray, in my mind, that cost.

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  4. Now I feel even MORE guilty for flagging them on your radar! Thanks for linking to me even though you must hate me!!! hah.

    That said, when I saw your pins I promptly looked up Merchant and Mills here in the UK and am putting the bulb ended ones on my wishlist! DON'T look at their website. Seriously. Just don't. ;-B

    That sucks on the yarn...though isn't what you got supposed to be really nice to work with?

    The pin is lovely. I never even looked at their accessories. Gulp.

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    1. Don't look at Merchant and Mills...step away from the button!!!! Too, too lovely!

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    2. OK, you two are totally evil! :-) I've actually found this site before and, for some reason, it doesn't grab me. I guess there aren't enough pics on the home page. I actually think the accessories can be worth it, if they have what you're desperately looking for and haven't been able to locate it anywhere else. Overpriced, in those circumstances, is relative.

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  5. I don't know anything about yarn (much less hipster yarn), but I've seen Merchant & Mills products in the flesh and had the same reaction : it's say overpriced. I was all ready to spend some cash and was soooooo disappointed ! The packaging is nice, but otherwise it's the same notions you can buy for a few bucks at the notion store. Their fancy 9€ seam gauge is the identical twin of my 1,5€ one (and identically crappy, too). Their glass-head pins are just, well, run-of-the-mill glass-head pins. I can see paying through the nose for hard-to-find stuff (like your safety pins, I've never seen anything like this before), but otherwise it's really only pretty packaging.

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    1. Rose - Merchant and Mills somehow doesn't grab me. I don't know why! Glad to know your perspective...

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  6. The Malabrigo is maybe going to break your heart as a sweater or any other high-wear item. It is gorgeous and soft and lovely to knit with, and you might even make friends with the variegation, but they have yet to make one that doesn't pill like a really pilly thing. It's the price you pay for yarn softer than a baby's butt.

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    1. Oh great! Another thing to overcome :-) Well, I guess I'm going to get to know another yarn, for better or worse...

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  7. I did do a search for those safety pins on ebay after ogling the M&M ones. They are seemingly much cheaper, but you have to buy in bulk and then the shipping cost overseas would kill it.

    Sigh.

    I loved the look of the oil cloth stuff...but yeah - way overpriced!

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    1. I haven't found ones that looked as good as this elsewhere. And, you're right, shipping really does kill it. I still kind of want some nylon coated paper, for some crazy reason. And I do like the kits very much (the concept more than the actual patterns). They are well priced, intriguingly.

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  8. Hmm, those coil-less safety pins look way nicer than the ones I found with jewelry making supplies at the craft store. But probably not 17 times nicer.

    I hope you end up liking the Malabrigo despite its variegatedness, some Mal is very subtle, looking at a few Rav projects in that color - perhaps not this one - but still way more subtle than many other brands.

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    1. Well, as long as yours don't catch then these are definitely not 17 times nicer. I have to check out other projects using this yarn. Good idea!

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  9. I've never browsed the Habu website and don't dare to now, but I've admired some wonderful projects made from their paper yarns and especially those with a steel thread that allows the garments to be shaped. Perhaps I could set some browsing time up as a reward once I finish my first round of marking . . . . hmmmm. . . .

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    1. I should have got a paper yarn. Or nylon-wrapped cashmere (what a mean thing to do to cashmere!) But I was looking for something I could relate to. Guess you live and learn.

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  10. what have you done to me! have you seen those silks?

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  11. I am still working with the silk wrapped merino (n-80)...it is actually rather unpleasant to work with!! Rips the hell out of your hands and is a bitch to frog.

    Wrapping cashmere with nylon? I didn't even see that one!

    That is just plain sacrilege. Why would you even do that to such a buttery fibre? It is like taking a diamond and covering it in acrylic paint, just to do something different! Wrong, wrong, wrong.

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    1. OK, I totally made up the cashmere wrapped in nylon! I thought it sounded too ridiculous to be true (though so does all of their other yarn!)... But they have desecrated cashmere in other ways, if I remember correctly :-)

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