It’s not uncommon to find knitting yarns that are twins – products of the same factory, but bought and sold through different distributors.  Today’s case in point:  Marks & Kattens Fame Trend, and Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock.

Label info for the two varies slightly:

• Poems Sock – 75% wool, 25% nylon, 100g, 420m.  Made in Turkey. 28st/36rows = 4in or 10cm on 2-2.75mm needles.
• Fame Trend – 75% wool, 25% polyamide, 100g, 420m.  Made in Turkey. 26 st/37rows=4in or 10cm on 3mm needles.

Polyamide and nylon are the same thing, so the only real difference in labeling is the minor difference in gauge, with Poems being marketed at the slightly tighter sock gauge.

It’s clear that there is some difference in the color ranges carried under each label, but in this case I can say that Fame Trend color #666 is exactly the same as Poems Sock color #955.  So if you are short one yarn or another, you can try looking for its long-lost twin.  You may luck out and find the extra you need.

Now, why was this momentous discovery made?  It’s because of Swirly, which has grown to sofa size:

So far I’ve used 1.75 skeins of the green Zauberball, and four of Poems Sock.  I had one more skein of Poems, purchased via mail order from Webs.  As is common in long repeat variegateds, not every skein is equally bright.  My one remaining ball is a bit muddy compared to the others, and I was hoping I would not have to use it.  However, you can see that I ran out midway up the second side of my very simple sawtooth edging.  I clearly am going to need more…

But not to despair!  Albuquerque Nancys to the rescue! 

I have a long time pal also named Kim who lives out that way.  She’s a knit buddy and life-friend.  We’ve even worked side by side for more than a couple employers.  When she heard that her two local friends were planning a trip out to Boston, she suggested that they (both named Nancy) and I get together.  The Nancys were in the middle of a Great Stash Trim, refocusing their collections on the yarns they wanted to use most.  So I ended up being the beneficiary of a bag of onesies and twosies, all sock weight and lace weight – all most beautiful and prime quality.  Luck was clearly on my side because not only did I get a treasure that someone had to haul halfway across the country; buried in that treasure were two **perfect** skeins of the Marks & Kattens. 

So I can put away my muddy skein of Poems, saving it for future socks.  I can finish my sawtooth edging with vibrant color Fame Trend and finally complete Swirly.  And best of all, I got to meet the Nancys!