Spotlight | Four Seasons Yarn

If you're a regular reader, you know Four Seasons by Classic Elite is one of my go-to yarns. When the company decided to discontinue it, I was relieved to have a significant quantity safely ensconced in the stash.

Four Seasons had many desirable qualities. The 70% cotton and 30% wool blend combined the silkiness of fine cotton with just enough wool to offer the springiness and memory I need. It came in a wonderful range of colors, and as an added bonus, it was well suited to myriad projects, producing a worsted weight fabric that was comfortable to work with and use year round.

The differences between Cotton Fleece and Four Seasons are subtle but real, akin to the way cake and bread flour are similar but different. Cotton Fleece works well for many things, but there are times I want that extra bit of woolly resilience and loftiness that made Four Seasons a must-have staple.

With that context in place, let's take a quick look at a few projects.

Afghans

                       

Colorado Baby

(This is the only photo I have of a small blanket for a friend's first grandchild.)

Breidan Reversible Afghan

Twegen Reversible Afghans

Dishcloths, Coasters & Placemats

April Showers

Christmas Trees

Double Luck Coasters & Mug Mats

Hot Shot Kitchen Set

Whimsy Owl Family

Sweet Hearts & Soft Spots

Red, White & Blue 

When you're knitting from stash, it's crucial to mix and match yarns to make the most of what's on hand, so some of these projects also appeared in the Cotton Fleece round up. The Twegen Berry fluted rib afghan is a good example: the colorful strips are Four Seasons, while the cream-colored seams and trim are Cotton Fleece. 

These projects are representative but by no means all inclusive, particularly where cloths, coasters and holiday knits are concerned. Unfortunately now that Four Seasons has been discontinued, my supply is rapidly dwindling. There are a few skeins of red, white and blue, but the rest has been reduced to partial skeins and scraps.

You don't have to be psychic to know one day soon, I'll be desperately searching for precisely the right cotton-wool yarn for a new design or familiar favorite. Frankly, I'd rather avoid that crisis by starting the search for a substitute now.

So, tell me: Do you have a favorite cotton-wool blend? What do you like and dislike about it? What have you made with it?

Share whatever details you feel are pertinent, and together, perhaps we can discover fresh yarns that suit projects we've longed to make or those we have yet to conceive.

UPDATE
Patterns for many of these projects are now available: click here.