Burn, baby, burn

I've become somewhat of a yarn snob. I didn't mean to, honestly. I started out trying to be frugal, after all, not knowing how deep into it I was about to get. So when I began working on the back pack for my daughter, I figure, hey its for a six-year-old, no reason to drop a load of cash for her. How wrong I was. I fished out $20 for four skeins of worsted 100% acrylic yarn, and was left with a LOT of left over yarn. I've used it to knit a couple of cell phone covers, and currently working on a hat with kitty ears. Let me tell you, any time I have good yarn I spent good money on, I am quick to begin working with it. My kitty ear hat sits forlorn on my nightstand, day after day, while I knit up blankets, hats, legwarmers, and a shrug with better quality yarn.

So why the standoffish attitude towards the cheap yarn? I like quality. I understand that for most things, if you skimp on the dollar, you skimp on the quality. My husband is just now beginning to understand why I'll spend $60 for a pair of jeans at a department store, instead of $20 at a discount store. Cheaper yarn generally isn't high in quality. The manufacturer uses a percentage of the fiber that makes good quality yarn, and substitutes acrylic in for the rest, making it cheaper to produce. So obviously the cheapest yarn out there will be 100% acrylic. While that makes it easy on my wallet, it takes its toll on my knitting. It's hard for me to work with. I find myself putting more effort into making those stitches because the yarn won't slide off my needle or through the old stitch easily. I don't know why, but it also dried out my hands. Besides, the finished product just LOOKS cheap. I don't want to make something that looks like it could be purchased at the local dollar store. I'm tempted to host a bonfire and just use all that acrylic for kindle. I wonder how it will burn? I know that sounds dark, but really, that's how much I dislike that yarn. I am now a firm believer that acrylic should be for my nails ONLY.  From here on out, if it isn't found in nature (on a plant or from an animal/worm) then it isn't for me!