Who goes to the French yarn festival les journées de la laine à Felletin this year? This yarn festival takes place on the 25th, 26th and 27th of October 2019 in the city Felletin. I will go. It will be my third time. It is a chance to see beautiful yarns, creative projects but also to meet passionate people.

A knitting or crochet pattern usually recommends a specific type of yarn. But you will not always have this exact yarn type in your stash or it may not be available at your LYS. Don’t give up on your project. Try yarn substitution.

In this article I share a few important elements to take into account when substituting yarn. It goes beyond matching gauge.

Do you bring souvenirs from your travels? I do. I buy yarn whenever I travel abroad. Sometimes hand spun yarn. Often hand dyed by indie dyers. Or when I visit a yarn mill. Special souvenirs that bring back memories of my travels whenever I use them for my Tunisian crochet projects.

For some time now I’ve been following the beautiful work of Triskelion Yarn, an indie dyer from Wales. The yarns he dyes are generally British-sourced, with a few exceptions. In short, when I had planned to go to the Edin Yarn Fest last March, Triskelion Yarn was on top of my wish list!

The weather is grey these days. So I dived into my stash and picked what I had in kid mohair from la Droguerie. I had vivid colors, mainly vibrant yellow and nuclear orange. Beautiful colors but what could I do with them? How to combine them?

I’m curious and I always find it interesting to visit farms, workshops, yarn companies, yarn shops to learn more about the making of fibers in general and wool in particular. So, during my visit to the EdinYarnFest, I spent some time at the “Wool Research Station” in association with the Woolist .

I’ve always loved those small perfume samples distributed in perfume shops. Not especially the small bottles. I much prefer the small wipes. Not for me. But for my yarn stash.

I never spray perfume directly onto yarn. That could damage the yarn or change the colors or have an impact on the dye. You never know. I play safe.

What I do is to leave perfume samples open in my project bags and stash boxes. So the wet wipes are never in direct contact with the yarn. But they slowly spread their scent, discreet or strong. Obviously no need for samples specifically. You can spray your perfume on a tissue, that works equally well. Just make sure the wet tissue is not in direct contact with your yarn. I personally like the variety of scents provided by samples. It’s like a little surprise each time I open a box from my stash after some time.

The same applies to essential oils. But these are to be handled in limited amount and with caution. I like cedar and lavender to keep moths away. But that’s another topic.