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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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A Few Good Yarns

March 12, 2015 1 Comment

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

There’s nothing like happy yarn mail to make your day. Indie yarn shop A Good Yarn Sarasota sent me a few yarns to review recently, and I was so excited when they arrived! I received one hank each of Dream in Color Jilly yarn, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport. Being the swatch addict that I am, I knit up a little 4×4 inch stockinette swatch in each yarn and blocked them. The photos are of each swatch post blocking.

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied. A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

A Good Yarn is located in Sarasota, Florida, but thanks to their large online presence, they’re a shop I was a fan of despite being a Chicagoan. One of the unique things A Good Yarn Sarasota offers is exclusive colorways of yarns that knitters know and love. All three of the yarn colors featured in this post are among their exclusive colors. What’s seriously cool is that all of these colors are either inspired by the underwater photos taken by the owner’s husband, places around the Sarasota region, or teams local to the area (or call the area home during spring training).

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn in Scarlet and Grey / Bucs (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

The yarn above is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Scarlet and Grey (a.k.a Tampa Bay Buccaneers colors). I am a native of a state (North Dakota) that’s entirely lacking a pro team, I never really got into sports. Sports chick or not, I really dig the red and grey striping in this yarn! Lorna’s Laces is a favorite yarn company of mine (they’re based in my adult hometown, Chicago!), and their sock yarn is yummy to work with. (Sorry for all the parenthesis here! Ha!) It’s so soft, and the really even striping has me hankering to make a fantastic baby sweater, hat, or of course, socks. I really can’t wait to cast on some selfish socks with this ASAP.

Dream in Color Jilly Yarn in Cabbage Patch (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

Next , I tried the lovely Jilly from Dream in Color in the custom Cabbage Patch colorway. If you visit the custom colorway page for this one, you can see the photo this yarn is inspired by, and it’s so good! You can absolutely see the color connection between the fascinating photo and the finished yarn. You can see in the swatch I knit with this how the color changes throughout in a nice, subtle way. This yarn is single ply, which would be great to show off some nice lacework. With 880 yards per skein, you could knit an impressive Stevie Nicks-style shawl! (#personalknittingbucketlist)

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport Yarn in Grape Jelly (Exclusive colorway for A Good Yarn Sarasota)

Lastly, I tried Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in Grape Jelly. Oof, I love me some grey and purple, you guys! This yarn, much like Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, is nice and soft. With the more modest yardage compared to the 800+ yards of the Jilly, I’m really leaning toward a baby project with this yarn. Last year I blogged a couple baby blankets (here and here) during a 14-baby baby boom among my friends and relatives, and now that all those babies are turning one, this yarn might need to turn into a baby raglan pullover for one of them.

A Few Good Yarns - A review of A Good Yarn Sarasota's custom colorways. A yarn review from Hands Occupied.

The yarn featured in this post was provided by A Good Yarn Sarasota in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: a good yarn sarasota, dream in color, exclusive colorways, jilly, lorna's laces, shepherd sock, shepherd sport, yarn review

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. Marilyn

    March 13, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Sock yarns are simply yummy! Thanks for introducing us to these three yarns/colorways. Stunning!

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Head to the link in bio for an update on my 2021 p Head to the link in bio for an update on my 2021 plans for Hands Occupied. The two words that best describe this post are self-care and boundaries. 😜 
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Much love to everyone who sent supportive messages about taking time off and creative burnout. I often deflect with humor, but it was genuinely touching to connect with folks who understand. I’ll have something new for y’all later this week, so stay tuned! ❤️💛💙 
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Pictured: An unblocked pile of four striped sweater panels in primary colors sitting on a blanket in my lap.
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
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