I’ll admit, I’m something of a yarn snob. I guess after working with yarn for so long, I’ve really developed a taste for certain fibers, but I also know that it’s important to use the right tool for the job. So, it was a shock even to me how excited I was when we started developing our latest yarn – Brava!

Brava is a super-soft premium acrylic yarn that was designed with washability and durability in mind. Four plies give it the right balance for softness and stitch definition, which makes it a great choice for purl-and-plain patterns, cables and even lacy blankets.

It should be no surprise by now that I mostly knit for charity. Many charities I knit for require wool, but some really need super easy-care fibers. Anything having to deal with babies or kids or hospitals generally require that the yarn used be able to survive an autoclave. And that pretty much means acrylic. Developing Brava was the perfect opportunity to get exactly what I would look for in an easy-care, perfect-for-charity yarn.

The three weights of Brava – Sport, Worsted and Bulky – have many colors in common. But since the Sport weight is just perfect for knitting baby and kids’ garments, I had to make sure we got some cheerful, bright colors included. And boy, did we ever!

Pink and baby blue were pretty much a given. I prefer, though, to use more fun colors like green, yellow, peach and purple when knitting baby clothes. We added Alfalfa, Custard, Seashell and Lady Slipper to the line to give a bigger variety for baby knits.

With Cream, White, Cotton Candy, Sky and Tranquil, they make the best rainbow! I would love to see a granny square afghan with all these colors.

I’ve already knit a bunch of baby hats with Brava Sport. I want to use every color! The big, 100 gram skeins will make about five baby hats (or a baby hat and sweater!) – hmm, five hats, 30 colors – that’s a lot of hats!

Or, I could use some of the more grown-up colors of Brava Worsted like Solstice Heather, Hunter and Currant and whip up some durable lap blankets to give to the nursing home.

Or, use the bright colors of Brava Bulky and whip up some scarves, hats and mittens for the homeless shelter. The possibilities are endless! And, with a price of only $2.99, I can do all of the projects on my charity list for next year. Brava!