Magic Yarn

In the realm of the Deep V Argyle vest class, I have just set the steeks for my arm holes. I am slowly but surely working my way up the vest as it is now getting smaller and smaller every 4 rows. Here is a nice pretty shot of my v-neck steek with its charming gaping mouth at the bottom*.

We are supposed to have all the knitting done in time for our last class in 2 weeks. In that class we will connect the shoulders, cut the steeks and start picking up for the neck and arm bands. The problem is, when I bought my yarn, I bought enough for the size 34 I was going to be making. However, because of my gauge, I am actually making a size 38. And a bit more knitting makes for a bit more yarn. Where it stands today, I only have a 1/2 ball left of the 4 balls of Scarlett I originally purchased. And clearly 1/2 a ball is not enough to finish the body of the vest, pick up stitches and knit 2 inch neck and arm bands. This means I needed to get my hands on another ball. But guess what? I bought this yarn from an online shop based in Australia.

The idea of placing another international order for a $5 ball of yarn seemed mildly silly. Talk about the shipping not compensating for the cost savings of the yarn! So, I had resolved myself to purchasing one additional ball locally, figuring that I could use it for the bands only and hoping it would hide differences between the dye lots.

Then something miraculous happened...

In a truly "a-ha" moment (any one else really miss A-Ha from the Take on Me era?), I thought, just for ducks, I'm going to check the dye lot of the yarn in town. So on a recent excursion to Lori's in Alpine, I did just that. And you know what? IT FREAKING MATCHES!! This is why, I am now calling this yarn my Magic Yarn. What is the chance that a yarn produced in New Zealand and ordered from Australia, would match the dye lot of the same yarn sold in a San Diego suburb? Truly amazing, I say.

*Please don't worry about the puckering of my fair isle. I am still new at this, but I can assure you there is plenty of give in my fabric and it should block out nicely.