WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh well you do seem to be right about the merino question- you sure did a lot of research!

Too bad the sweater is not right for you.
But...it seems you did get a few other pieces of merino that will be quite useful and cozy, so that's ok.
Sometimes I think it's the inner layers that are the most important. If one is wearing a luxurious merino or cashmere base layer, to me it feels kind of chic to throw a favorite worn baggy thrift shop sweater over it. Of course, baggy isn't so good for biking, but it's nice around the house or going to the supermarket.

[Triskeliongirl]

Well, Lisa, you were right that the black full zip shak is a better choice than the organic sweater! I realized that I really do need a second sweater (I need something to wear while its drying....), so I re-ordered the small full zip black shak from Udans. Somehow seeing how badly the organic sweater fit made me realize what a truly nice piece the black shak is, and its even on sale. The organic sweater is more like the sweater of yesteryear, big and chunky whereas the shak is sleek and slender. I didn't know I could be so warm without bulk. I just love the shak/kate pair.

So... after dinner I went back to that store with the ibex 50% off sale and picked up the 2 small kates in green. In the beginning I thought they were too lightweight, and while I have some mid weight stuff on order, I am also realizing how perfect they are for where I live. They are dressy enough to wear without the shak when it warms up, but really add warmth when I need it. Like today, I wore my black kate and thistle heather shak to work (no coat). It started to warm up inside so I removed the shak and the kate looked nice. Then it started to cool down so I put the shak back on, and then tonite even though it was cold outside I was able to go out in the pair and be comfy both walking from my car to the store and inside the store. The kate is also a nice base under my cycling jerseys.

I tried a midweight base on with my shak in the store, and was overheating in the dressing room. I also got to compare how the 17.5 merino felt against my skin vs the 18.5, and it really is more luxorious. I'll keep the tags on the new kates until the mail order stuff arrives so I can compare everything and decide, but I wanted to grab them before they sold out. The stuff was pretty picked over this time. Most of the ibex was gone. This time the clerk that checked me out was more knowledgable, said, wow you snagged some 17.5 Ibex at an amazing price, I didn't think we had any left.

So, while it sounds like I've bought a HUGE amount of wool, so far what I am definitely keeping are 2 shaks and 2Kates. I'll probably keep the 2 new Kates, one set of mid-weight icebreaker260 (top and bottom), and a bean t-neck and/or the ibex ribbie, but I'll decide after trying everything on. I find while I can wear the shak everyday for a week without washing, I do need a fresh base daily, even trying to air them out at night. I worry the midweight bases will be overkill where I live, and on cold days I just need to layer my terry vest or PI gavia jacket over the kate/shak combo, or add a cotton sweater under. To cycle, I just need to layer my PI vagabound jacket/vest or craft rain jacket over the kate/shak. Its amazing to me, pieces that work for both cycling and work, over a wide range of temps. I can tell these are pieces I'll have for a good long time, long after those cotton sweaters are ratty and gone.

[Triskeliongirl]

I just wanted to post one more tid-bit on the organic sweater. As I packed it up to send back I did notice the label said 'hand-knit' so it really is a nice piece for someone who lives in a cold place looking for a chunky warm generously cut piece. While it didn't suit my needs, it is a very nice sweater.

Advice on bases please. I ordered a bunch of mid-weight stuff, but now I am worried it will be too warm for layering where I live. But, I like to be able to take off my outer layer and not have it be see through. My kates are OK, but how are the ibex woolies, or the icebreaker 150 or 200 tops?

[Brandy]

I'm stuck on wool as well right now. I've been riding in Woolistic Body Base base layers and a Woolistic wool jersey. Keeping me nice and cozy!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Triskell- I think you will do very well with combining your thistle and your black shak with your black and your green Kates in various ways. You will get a lot of mileage out of just those two type items. Both are also elegant enough to wear alone.

As to needing a fresh base layer daily...we are all different, but I would like to mention something that I discovered several years ago and like very much:
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/086449300093.html
This "crystal" spray deodorant is really wonderful. It has no odor at all, and seems like plain water. What it actually is is a solution of mineral salts in water. It does NOT have aluminum salts, but has other mineral salts like perhaps magnesium salts, etc that are harmless. How it works is that it creates a PH environment on your skin that the underarm bacteria cannot thrive in. Odor happens when those bacteria multiply over the day. The mineral salts create a pH that the bacteria have a hard time breeding in. So in a way this deodorant works the very same way as the wool does- creating an underarm environment where bacteria will not thrive and multiply much.
I really like this stuff and it is much more natural than most commercial deodorants. It leaves no residue and does not have any perfumes at all.
It also comes in a crystal salt "rock" form that you wet and glide on, but I like the little pump spray myself. (non-aerosol of course, so doesn't hurt the environment)

[Triskeliongirl]

Well thanks for the tip Lisa! Do you usually mail order it, or do you find it in health food type stores?

My skin is very sensitive so I usually avoid underarm deodorants, but something like this may do the trick for me, and save me on washing out my bases so frequently!

But, please, answer my question on how see through the other 'light bases' are like the woolies or LW ribbed shirt if I decide to exchange my middies for lighter ones.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well thanks for the tip Lisa! Do you usually mail order it, or do you find it in health food type stores?

I buy mine at our local health food store. But i do see it is cheaper on the link I sent, but I don't know about shipping. It doesn't go bad, so if you liked it I suppose you could order like 6 bottles online and save a bunch that way.

But, please, answer my question on how see through the other 'light bases' are like the woolies or LW ribbed shirt if I decide to exchange my middies for lighter ones.

I can only answer about the ones I know.
I once bought a very lightweight base layer on sale from Ibex in a "maize" pale yellow color. I found it to be way too see through to wear alone, even with a light colored bra. It would be ok as a base layer under stuff.
I have the Ibex "woolies" base layers in black and in a melon color. The melon is a bit too see through to wear alone, but the black is no problem to wear alone at all. Same thing with my Smartwool microweight base layers- the blacks are fine alone, the light colors are just a bit too see through for my liking to wear alone.
I think that even though they are the same weight, that both the Ibex and SW lightweight base layers are more open weave than the Kate, which I did try on the other day. Maybe they are supposed to "breathe" more with an open weave since they are marketed as base layers, whereas the Kate is a "shirt". The Kate seems more silky and closed weaved even though it's lightweight too.
I wear my black Ibex and SW lightweight base layers alone all the time, no see-through problems. So sticking with a dark color might help there.

[Dianyla]

But, please, answer my question on how see through the other 'light bases' are like the woolies or LW ribbed shirt if I decide to exchange my middies for lighter ones.

All of my various lightweight base layers (e.g. Icebreaker 150 weight, and the lightest Smartwool and Ibex categories) are somewhat transparent. For example, if you wear a white sportsbra under a black base layer, it will gleam through. It's rarely a problem because I rarely wear these layers by themselves, but occasionally on a very hot summer day I'll wear one and just make sure I've got a flesh-toned bra underneath. Normally the thinnest layer I'll wear standalone (nothing over or under) is a midweight wool, in summertime.

Someone asked about pilling a few posts back - Icebreaker recommend throwing a pair of hard denim jeans into the washer with your woollens. I tried this out and it does actually work to remove light fluffing that's starting to pill. Hard mature formed pills must be shaved off, as with any other garment.

[KnottedYet]

As to needing a fresh base layer daily...we are all different, but I would like to mention something that I discovered several years ago and like very much:
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/086449300093.html
This "crystal" spray deodorant is really wonderful. It has no odor at all, and seems like plain water. What it actually is is a solution of mineral salts in water. It does NOT have aluminum salts, but has other mineral salts like perhaps magnesium salts, etc that are harmless. How it works is that it creates a PH environment on your skin that the underarm bacteria cannot thrive in. Odor happens when those bacteria multiply over the day. The mineral salts create a pH that the bacteria have a hard time breeding in. So in a way this deodorant works the very same way as the wool does- creating an underarm environment where bacteria will not thrive and multiply much.
I really like this stuff and it is much more natural than most commercial deodorants. It leaves no residue and does not have any perfumes at all.
It also comes in a crystal salt "rock" form that you wet and glide on, but I like the little pump spray myself. (non-aerosol of course, so doesn't hurt the environment)

All aluminum compounds (including alum, which is in the Crystal products) make me itch like a crazed flea-ridden beast. And I'm a major stinky-sweat monster. My friend's mom taught me a trick that works well and doesn't make me itch. (I think she did it out of self preservation!) Use a regular ol' stick deodorant, dip it in baking soda, and then put it on. The little bit of baking soda does the same thing as Crystal deodorant, with out the itchy alum. Awesome! (cuz I'm really really not fun when I'm stinky)

I've accidentally smeared the deodorant/baking soda mix on just about every wool shirt I own, and it seems to come out just fine in the wash.

Edit: the Crystal I tried was the solid alum chunk. I don't know if the alum in water spray that Lisa uses would be less itchy. I haven't tried the spray.

[mimitabby]

and Trisk, you look wonderful, cute even!! congrats on losing all that weight!