The Quest for Matching Yarn

Well, I ran out of black-and-white yarn to finish the second argyle. It was a 50g skein of Lang Jawoll Color 820104, and it was not purchased recently. Therefore, I figured it would be impossible to find the same dye lot and maybe very difficult to find the color. I called around various yarn shops in the neighborhood to see if they sold it. No one did. I had my wife check Tangled Web, our local yarn shop here in Oak Park, and they didn't have it either. Rats. I checked online this morning, and the only place I could find that sold it charged more for the shipping than for the skein!

Rumor had it that the new yarn shop in the South Loop, Loopy Yarns, sold lots of Jawoll, so I high-tailed it down there on my lunch hour to see what they had. Randolph and Columbus (150 N / 300 E) proved to be quite a hike from 8th and State (750 S / 0 E-W), but it was well worth it! I got to meet Vicky, the owner, and it turns out she is also a sock knitter! While she didn't have 820104, she did have 830037, which is so close I can't tell the difference. I didn't have the old yarn with me, unfortunately, so I'm not sure it's an exact match, but I don't think it's going to matter, as it wasn't going to be a perfect match anyways because of the inevitably disparate dye lots. So, for less then $5, I am now the proud owner of more black-and-white Jawoll. She also had some beautiful sock yarns, including the widest selection of solid-colored sock yarn I have ever found in a yarn store. If you're a sock knitter and passing through Chicago, this store is a must visit!

Comments

meg said…
... and I made fun of you when you pulled your unfinished argyle out of your pants pocket this morning ... you should have left it there so you could match colors.
Yeah, well I didn't know I would actually be looking for the yarn today. I tried stopping by earlier after dropping by bow off for a rehair, but the yarn shop doesn't open until 11:30!
Anonymous said…
Yay! I love happy endings, LOL!
Sockbug

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