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Usually love these, but...
I usually love the mystery grab bags and definitely understand that most of the fun is the surprise and mystery of what's inside. I think I've purchased three or four different grab bags over the years and have always received at least one skein that I just loved, plus a few other things to try.
If I'm being completely honest, though, this time around I was a little underwhelmed. I received a total of three skeins of yarn, two of which were exactly the same same brand, blend, and colorway. Also, even though I ordered the mixed bag, all the colors I received were in the same color family blue. So, while I worry that this will sound whiny, it *was* disappointing just because I expected more variety.
These bags are a fantastic way to try some new brands or blends that might not be your usual favorites, and the contents are definitely worth the price, but I think this may be my last grab bag.
By clockworktomato on May 21, 2018
9 found this review helpful
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Love the pattern, but not the yarn
I enjoyed working on this pattern it's a quick project and the pattern is easy to learn. But I was very disappointed in the yarn, which I know is a bold statement, since these yarns were specifically selected and dyed for these kits.
I purchased the Vertigo kit, which is meant to shift through brown, yellow, green, sky blue, and purple against a backdrop of a light blue. Sadly, the colors in my finished project just didn't compare.
First, the solid yarn was far darker than I expected. I understand that dye variations happen and that colors display differently on some screens, but the blue I received was too dark to contrast with the variegated yarn. So my cowl looks overwhelmingly blue with a few muddy pops and hints of color. The solid blue just overpowers the other colors.
Second, the color changes on my ball of variegated yarn were extremely long even though I got proper gauge. So my cowl has nowhere near as much color as the sample I didn't even get to the brown. The pattern did caution me to start with the color I liked the most, since all of the yarn would not be used, but I didn't expect to have a color last for so many repeats of the pattern and to not even get to an entire shade.
I could have cut the yarn and forced more rapid color changes, but this would have defeated the purpose of having the continuous ball of variegated yarn.
Finally, once I washed and blocked the finished piece, it was far drapier than I expected despite proper gauge. This would be absolutely lovely for a scarf or shawl, but for a patterned cowl like this, I expected more stability. Because of the drapiness, my finished cowl flops open and shows the wrong side of the knitting which is a bit of a problem after tediously crossing all of those X stitches.
Sadly, this is probably the first thing I've ever purchased from JBW that hasn't knocked my socks off. I would definitely knit the cowl again, but not with these selected and quite expensive yarns.
196 found this review helpful