Live and Learn

OK, as I read this post, this evening, and considered my complex relationship with Brooklyn Tweed, I realized something and it's kind of shocking: I really like woolen-spun yarn.

If you've been reading this blog for any time, that might surprise you given my well-chronicled penchant for Tosh, Quince Chickadee, and Zara - some of the best worsted. Oh, and because I've felt very comfortable sharing my distaste for the granola-y fibres, in the past.

What really put me over the edge, though, was making this shawl. The fabric made from Brooklyn Tweed Loft yarn is so gorgeously refined, so endlessly springy, incredibly warm and beautifully dyed. While it may say rustic, it doesn't say Granny.

FWIW, you can learn more about the differences between worsted-spun and woolen-spun on the latest knit.fm podcast. Jared Flood also clarifies these processes in a totally approachable way.

In brief:

• Worsted spun =  dense, even, good stitch definition, sometimes luxe
• Woolen spun = wiry, airy, light, lofty, crunchy, generally rustic

Today's questions: Do you prefer one type of process over the other? Are you equally happy with the worsted-spun and woolen-spun? (I mean, I am - increasingly.) What do you look at when you walk into a yarn store and just gravitate to something on display?