WoolWeenies Club

[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.