Swatches

This evening I have been knitting swatches. Southwest Trading Company sent us some samples of their yarns at the shop today and I took them home to knit up swatches. Unfortunately they didn't send us samples of the yarns that I was most interested in--the soft fluffy soy silk ones! I like Love- the bamboo/silk blend- but its not terribly exciting. The 100% bamboo is pretty neat and unique...a somewhat limited color selection though. I like the sock yarn (Tofutsies) but to be honest I have never used sock yarn before so I'm not sure how it compares (I have knit socks, but never with yarn specifically for socks). Oasis--100% soy silk, but not the soft fluffy texture I want but a smooth roundish yarn--is fine but not terribly special. Craft--milk fiber and cotton--is fine as a all around cotton but doesn't seem to offer much more. It comes in a limited range of colors though. Inspiration (soy and alpaca) isn't very inspiring either. I have worked with both soy and alpaca before and both have the potential to be very soft and luxurious. This yarn is scratchy! Phoenix (soy silk ribbon) is pretty nice. It is flat like a ribbon but soft and easy to knit. It has potential. Rock (soy, wool and hemp) is neat. The hemp makes it somewhat coarse of course, but that will soften over time. The hemp also makes it feel kind of...earthy. I could definitely see myself using it, though I'm not sure for what.

Have you used any SWTC yarns? Do you have any opinions on this company or its yarns? Have you heard anything about them? good or bad!