Ok I’m not going to beat around the bush here- April 2024 was a pretty rough month for me. I lost my beloved cat (I could write an essay-length blog post just about her and why I spent an entire week crying my eyes out afterwards) and apparently I picked up a cold during my visit to Port Melbourne which really knocked me around- I remember colds only needing about 3-4 days of rest but now that I’m older? I was out for a week at least- hell, I’m still sniffling! Ugh.
Anyway, I’v noticed that local Big Box Store Spotlight has been adding a bunch of new yarns to their lineup, and I’ve been meaning to go and check them out but obviously the fates were against that idea so I hadn’t gotten to- until yesterday, which also happened to be VIP day! Anyway, onto the yarns!
Valley by Moda Vera
Ok so this one doesn’t have the ‘new’ marker anymore, but that just shows how long it took for me to get this. Anyway, This is a 100% Acrylic yarn that has some really nice colourways and is really soft. I actually picked up a few balls of this stuff in both the Eden and Blackwood colourways when it first came out, and I can tell you right now that this stuff is super soft. It’s a single ply so I don’t know how strong it’ll be, but I can definitely see this working up to be a lovely scarf or blanket for sure! The variegated colours remind me a bit of Lion Brand Ferris Wheel, but this stuff is way softer. it’s marked as 8-ply, but for those international folk who might be a little confused, that’s how DK weight is labelled in Australia (and maybe also the UK?). I know it’s a bit weird, but just bare with us, okay?
This stuff is AU$10 for a 150g skein, which isn’t actually too bad. However, it will frequently go down in price to $8, so defintely hold out for a sale if you can. When I went to my local Spotlight, this yarn was almost entirely cleaned out so I think it’s definitely going to be a popular budget choice for winter this year. It comes in 12 colourways and honestly I think they’re all pretty nice and there’s going to be at least 2-3 that appeal to everyone.
Value Ball Grab Packs
When I was at my local, I did see these and thought they came in some really nice colourways- the gradient sets are especially nice,although the Strawberry Shortcake one is…. kind of odd? Anyway, because these were bagged up, I didn’t get to feel the yarn itself, but the regular value balls are… eh they’re ok for Acrylic. I could honestly take or leave them. I’d put them somewhere between 4 seasons and spotsaver in terms of spotlight acrylics, but not as nice as something like Fiddlesticks Superb 8 or Stylecraft Special DK (which my mum still insists is the best acrylic you can buy, but I dunno, Fiddlesticks is pretty nice too). Still, I definitely think the colour choice here are a huge draw. 5 100g balls would be more than enough for something like a matching scarf and hat, or even a lap blanket. Because of the colour choices, I could also see these fitting in with a fair few home decor styles too.
A set of 5 100g skeins will set you back AU$20, which I guess helps them live up to the name of Value, hey?
4 Seasons Flinders Shine Cotton
Flinders Cotton is actually one of the 4 seasons products I like the best, and the 50g quantities make it a very attractive and accessible go-to for smaller crochet projects specifically. While I’m happy to see Spotlight add more yarns to this line, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Shine. It’s the affordable cotton I know and love, with a strand of glitter thread mixed in. But here’s the problem: All of the 10 new colours use the same glitter thread, which is like an iridescent green? This means that it’s either completely invisible or badly clashes with certain colours. You can see it on the website photos and having seen this stuff in store, I can safely say that they’re pretty accurate. Like, look at the Pine colourway, where the bloody hell is it? That said, I think it looks quite nice with the Winter colour, so if I were to get any of these, it’d probably be that. The glitter thread itself does take a bit of softness away from the yarn too, which is pretty par for the course for most glitter threads (aside from your super fine ones like Stellina)
Anyway these go for AU$4.75 a ball, but will go down to just under $3 when on sale. Maybe it’d be worth picking up for a project? I dunno, I can’t see myself using it but maybe you might. I think it’ll be pretty situational.
Keepsake Organic Cotton
Honestly this one slipped under my radar, I would have sworn we’ve had this stuff for a while now but there is a little ‘new’ sticker on the website listing so who am I to argue? Anyway, I’ve been burned before by Organic Cotton (literally, the Lincraft Organic Cotton feels like sandpaper to knit with at times) but I’m sure this stuff isn’t nearly as bad. I didn’t get to squish it while I was out but I’m pretty sure the squish test only actually applies to wool anyway, right? One thing I will say about this yarn is that comes in a range of colours I can only really describe as …. sickeningly millennial. And as a millennial myself, I hate that my first thought was ‘ooh I like the colours’ before catching myself. Pinterest has ruined my sense of fun, I swear. Don’t get me wrong, the colours aren’t quite sad beige mum chic, but they’re definitely I based my entire personality around muted tones and minimlalism vibes, you know? Except for that one kinda-bright yellow. I’m not normally a big yellow person but I could actually see myself using that yellow. My pick of all the colours is probably Crown Blue, but that’s because it’s a colour I can kinda see fitting into my wardrobe. Though it’s a bit more on the purple side than I’d really like. Or maybe I’m just still in mourning over the loss of BWM’s Junior Navy colourway. It’s probably that.
Moda Vera Aries
Among the new stuff at Spotlight is actually a pretty decent amount of new Blanket Yarns. Aries from Moda Vera isn’t actually too bad, although it does have a bit of glitter thread that takes away from that initial plush feeling you get from these kinds of yarns. This comes in an assortment of 7 colours, most of which are darker jewel-tones. Honestly I could see this being made up in some really fun cushion covers for couch to add some drama to a room for sure. Or… I dunno, whatever else you people use this stuff for. I recently made a ‘bed’ for my new cat and it was actually quite hard to manage? And my hands hurt afterwards. But my new cat enjoyed it so honestly that’s all that matters.
Anyway, I know that good quality chenille blanket-style yarns are a bit harder to come by in Australia so Spotlight adding more options can only be a good thing. At $7 for a 100g ball, I don’t know if I’d say this is a premium offering, but it’s definitely worth checking out!
4 Seasons Spot Saver Tweed
I’ve used Spotsaver yarn before and it’s honestly not too bad. I made a granny hexagon cardigan with it and it’s an item I am constantly using around the house, especially now that we’re into the cooler months. Having a Tweed option join this lineup is honestly great. There’s only one Tweed colourway but it’s a really good one. It’s no wonder that it was completely sold out at my local, so I couldn’t even get to see it in person! Still, I’ll probably keep an eye out for it, I think it’d make a really nice scarf or hat (or both!) for the winter months. Clearly I wasn’t the only person who had this idea. I’d even consider another hexagon cardi in it, though I’m very iffy about making garments from acrylic yarn as they tend to make me sweat a lot (which is exactly why my current hexagon cardi has big open sleeves and no closure). The warm white and brown tweed flecks are a really nice classic combination too. I wonder, if this sells well, perhaps spotlight will consider adding other Tweed yarns to this line? I can only hope.
It has an RRP of AU$9.50 per 140g skein, but as this is one of Spotlight’s in-house brands, it will likely be on sale frequently and will usually be around AU$5.75. Almost the perfect price for an impulse buy, which is a bit dangerous.
OH and also in addition to this, there’s also a Swatch Card you can pick up for Spotsaver 10ply. I’ve never seen a big box store do this for a yarn, but I think this is actually a bit weird considering you can just go into the store and look at the colours there.
Annette Eriksson Scandi Wool
Next up, we have Scandi Wool from Anette Eriksson. I’ve used their ‘Jeans’ cotton yarn before and it was alright. Still, I actually completely glossed over this yarn while I was in the store because I was certain we’ve had it for a while. Though it’s not actually up on Ravelry so I’ll believe them when they tell me it’s new. Anyway, because I didn’t pay attention to it in-store, I don’t have a huge amount to say about it. If you use this though, let me know! It looks like it might be a nice budget yarn to make some garments with, especially because the 8 colours it comes in are definitely giving me ‘winter wardrobe’ vibes. The Denim is really nice, and I’m always happy if a yarn gives me a good solid black. What can I say, I’m Melbournian- Black is like our city’s favourite colour!
This stuff is AU$6 for a 50g skein, so you’re going to need a lot of them for a sweater. I have no idea what the sale price would be for this one, but I’d probably say somewhere around AU$4.50 is probably a good price to start stocking up on it.
Abbey Road Sunshine Cotton
When I first started my fiber craft journey, I fell in absolute love with Abbey Road’s Freedom Cotton. It looks so lovely in the skein, and a lot of the colourways are really bright and well picked out. As a result, I have quite a lot of it. Now that I’m a bit more experienced, I find that this stuff is a bit more situational than I thought. While yes, I do have a Framework Bralette or two made with the stuff, I’m never really going to want these colours on an outfit I’m wearing out. So the majority of it has been sitting in my stash, waiting for that perfect project to come along. Honestly I think they’re probably all going to become bags. Anyway, my point it- Freedom Cotton was really nice and I was pissed when I saw it disappear from Spotlight’s website (though my local had it for ages afterwards). Anyway, Sunshine is literally just a re-brand of Freedom. Which is the same as Premier Hipster Cotton, just in less colourways. And wow, looking at some of the Hipster Cotton colours, I’m actually kind of annoyed that some of these didn’t make it to the Sunshine range. Okay, this entry has been a roller coaster.
Anyway, this is pretty nice cotton, and a 100g ball of it will set you back AU$12 at retail price. It’ll go on sale for $8 though, so I’d say- say it with me, people- wait for it to go on sale and stock up.
Honestly, Spotlight have more sales than EBGames at this point.
Abbey Road Kikki Merino
So unlike the last entry, this yarn is actually new (to my knowledge, anyway). It was also the yarn that I was most curious about because I’ve had really pleasant experiences with the Abbey Road yarns I’ve used up until this point. It might be my favourite Spotlight brand of yarn. Kikki Merino is a bulky weight Superwash Merino that fits between the jumbo weight Born to be Wool and the Aran weight Wool To Be Wild. I think out of the three, I like Kikki Merino the most. Unlike Wool to be Wild, it’s a 100% merino so it feels way more breathable. Also I’m generally not a fan of those huge roving-style yarns to that immediately turns me off Born To Be Wool. Anyway, I couldn’t help but pick up some balls of the Violet colourway and get started on a big squishy cable scarf, (a knit I’ve been craving for a while now) and here’s the results so far:
Looking pretty nice, no?
Anyway, this stuff comes in 12 colours, and a 100g ball will cost you AU$13. On sale, that comes down to $8, which I think is pretty reasonable. Also on a side note, wow my cables have improved so much since the last time I attempted them! I found it so hard to control my tension and I was put off doing them again for so long, but I’m positively breezing through this scarf! I’m not following any specific pattern, just using some cable patterns from a stitch dictionary. This yarn is actually excellent, and I’m definitely keen to make more with it. Am I finally entering my bulky knitting era? I never thought I’d see the day!
FINALLY, in addition to all of those yarns (there were also a few I didn’t cover simply because my store either didn’t have stock I wasn’t particularly interested in them), spotlight have also released a couple of 4 Seasons-branded Knitting Accessories:
- Wooden Yarn Bowl with Lid – AU$30 RRP (also comes in a ‘Natural’ finish)
- Yarn Winder – AU$40 RRP
- Yarn Spindle – AU$40 RRP
Out of all of them, I’d probably say that maaaaybe the winder could be worth it on sale? But remember that you don’t need all of these fancy accessories to enjoy fiber arts! (also I just realised that Spotlight is selling a yarn winder but they don’t sell any hanked yarn? That’s kinda weird, not gonna lie).
Oh and also there’s a couple of Abbey Road Kits that are new too. I wasn’t going to cover them until I saw that they seem to have Abbey Road yarn that you can’t buy individually? This Cushion Cover Kit comes with four balls of… furry yarn? That’s not a standard offering. Weird, you’d think it’d be something people can buy more of after finishing the kit.
Anyway, now that the April from Hell is officially over, hopefully I’ll get back to some regular yarnie content.
See you later!
