The impossible yarn?

[AahRee]

Can anyone help me find a yarn that fits the following characteristics? I'm getting desperate. I've looked everywhere I can think of, and I can't find ANYTHING.

It needs to be bulky weight, with a gauge of 3 stitches per inch on US #10.5 needles.

100% wool or alpaca, something along those lines. No acrylic or polyester. And something SOFT... it's for a sweater.

Available in neutral colors, like navy blue, grey or deep purple, or possibly a beige.

I'll need A LOT of it, so not TOO expensive.

Superwash would be great (since it's for a sweater), but that's the least of my concerns at this point.

If you can think of anything, and especially if you have a link where I could buy it, I'd really, really appreciate it! Thanks!

[bethwl]

I'm not sure what you will consider too expensive, but this is probably too high. But I'll go ahead and recommend Rowan polar. It also has a little acrylic (I think 10%), but the rest is an alpaca-wool blend. It's very soft and hazy. I made a poncho out of it and it's very beautiful (about 2.75-3 st per inch on US 11). It was $13.50 per 100-gram ball at my LYS, but I saw it at theknittingarden.com for about $11. I've also seen it on ebay before.

Hope you find something you like.

[bethwl]

I'm not sure what you will consider too expensive, but this is probably too high. But I'll go ahead and recommend Rowan polar. It also has a little acrylic (I think 10%), but the rest is an alpaca-wool blend. It's very soft and hazy. I made a poncho out of it and it's very beautiful (about 2.75-3 st per inch on US 11). It was $13.50 per 100-gram ball at my LYS, but I saw it at theknittingarden.com for about $11. I've also seen it on ebay before. www.knitrowan.com lists their U.S. retailers, also.

Hope you find something you like.

[bethwl]

I'm not sure what you will consider too expensive, but this is probably too high. But I'll go ahead and recommend Rowan polar. It also has a little acrylic (I think 10%), but the rest is an alpaca-wool blend. It's very soft and hazy. I made a poncho out of it and it's very beautiful (about 2.75-3 st per inch on US 11). It was $13.50 per 100-gram ball at my LYS, but I saw it at theknittingarden.com for about $11. I've also seen it on ebay before. www.knitrowan.com lists their U.S. retailers, also.

I also used a 100% wool for a scarf recently that is about the same gauge. TwoTwo by Classic Elite yarns. It was $7 for a 50-gram ball at my LYS.

Hope you find something you like.

[bethwl]

Sorry for the triple-post, not sure what happened there.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

bartlett yarns fisherman's bulky-it's cheap, 100% wool, can be machine washed on gentle I think, and comes in tons of colors.

http://www.bartlettyarns.com

[KnitChick]

Some possibities

Okay, here goes (got my yarn books right here):

Check out Lion Brand's Thick and Quick (you might get the exact same gauge on different needles) or Brown Sheep's Burly Spun (same gauge issue as Thick and Quick but much, much nicer yarn--retails at $6.70 per skein for 132 yds).

Plymouth possibilities:
1. Encore chunky on a 10 needle will give you the same gauge, and according to the latest price sheet should retail at 4.99/skein for 143 yds.
2. Outback wool should work, and that's now $13.70/skein for 370 yds.
3. Merino Supreme might work on 10s. It's 64 yds for $4.99/skein.
4. Geisha is a cute, furry microfiber yarn for $6.49/skein for 77 yds.
5. Sinsation (the softest yarn I've ever felt) would work on 10s, and is $10.99 for 38 yds (I know, freakin' expensive, but wait until you feel it!).

The other possiblity is to twine two yarns together to get what you want, like a worsted weight wool and a baby weight alpaca or something like that. Let me know what you decide.

BTW, can you tell I'm a yarn-sellin' junkie?

[Throkmorton]

White Buffalo!
I think I saw one place that carried it for $4.50/puck. It is sooo soft and knits up really quick once you get used to working with it. Comes in a ton of colours...here

[KnitChick]

I totally forgot about that one!

White Buffalo would be perfect! What a great idea! And their red is gorgeous! You can also separate the strands if using all of them is too much and need it a bit thinner.

[mehndi mama]

I second Brown Sheep, but I'd get the Lamb's Pride bulky - it's super-soft wool/mohair, and it knits up with a really cool twist, since it is one-ply. Whatever you make with it holds its' shape MUCH better & longer than anything else I've used.
Just recently, I've seen lots of Lamb's Pride on e-bay, in lots of 6 skeins or so. I'd check there.