Sorry about that. Alison mentioned a few weeks ago the Butterscotch Cardigan in the latest Interweave Crochet. It's hard to believe, but crochet was the first fibery craft I really got into (umm, unless of course you want to count cross-stitch, which I've been doing since I was maybe 6). Over the weekend I finally picked up the magazine, and the Butterscotch Cardigan is one of my top three design favorites in the issue. Most of the things I have the skill for just weren't my cup of tea, but the Cardigan is pretty feasible as is the spiral hat (which I'll probably do first once I am done Convertible), but Alison was right. The Shepherd Sock makes this a fairly pricey top. Not completely outside of the realms of affordability, but not as thrifty as I'd like to be.
So, I've been searching out alternatives. I figure I can buy the yarn once I am down under 10 WIPs listed on Ravelry, which probably won't be until June. I had this crazy idea in my head of double stranding a laceweight yarn. As long as it wasn't too fine, I could probably get away with it. Even if I had to buy 3 skeins, it would possibly be cheaper than buying 8 of the LL. I do this sort of math all of the time as part of my browsing pattern online. You know, I could probably buy the Comfort Sock or the Knit Picks solid sockweight yarn and make the project under $30... but I would probably enjoy the project more if I sprung for this slightly more expensive yarn. A silly thing to do.
So, I emailed the Loopy Ewe yesterday late afternoon and within 10 minutes had an answer I could probably live with: Lane Borgosesia Cashwool is one of the laceweights Sheri carries, and two strands of it together is pretty close to the apparent weight of one strand of the Shepherd Sock. Even buying a third skein would still be pretty affordable. So, now I know what I'm doing with my fun money in June!
