I came so close to buying yarn

I had a birthday recently, and for said birthday I received a very generous monetary gift. With it I bought four dresses from my new favorite online clothing store that also just happened to be having a sale (AND I got $20 off!). I have never gotten clothing from this place before so I have no idea how they are, I just love their styles. Anyway, with the sale and my $20 off, I had enough money left over to buy yarn for a cardigan.

I know! My little yarn addict was shaking with joy.

I mean, I did want to make a warm-weather cardigan. And I did nee yarn for it. It was perfectly justified. Never mind the fact that I haven’t finished a project since 1982. Never mind my yarn club keeps sending yarn. It was okay! I had the need.

Then I decided I needed shoes.

*cough* Shoe addict *cough*

To be fair, I realized that I haven’t been knitting much so the yarn would just sit in my yarn chest for 3 years and never see the light of day. Plus, my new dresses, if they fit, do need new shoes.

*cough* shoe addict *cough*

So, to appease my inner yarn addict, let me show off the last 3 skeins of sock club yarn that I’ve forgotten to show off. Plus this will quiet a certain someone who doesn’t believe I have new sock yarn.

April – Socktopus Sokkusu Original

The Husband has already claimed this one. Bastard. It’s 100% merino and quite lovely.

June – The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering

75% merino wool, 20% cashmere, and 5% nylon, and so darn pretty. Love, love, love.

August – Enchanted Knoll – EKF Fingering

90% superwash merino wool and 10% nylon. I really love the color of this one and can’t wait to see how the fabric knits up.

So I think I will drool over these for a while since I didn’t have much time to drool over them when I got them. And then the first yarn festival is in September and I can buy yarn then!

*ahem*

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Rhinebeck or Bust

Tomorrow is Rhinebeck and I am so excited because I truly have no life! The group of 11 ladies I was going with has shrunk to only 6 but we’ll have just as much fun.

I did not complete the Halloween costumes on my target dates and even added a piece to the Husband’s costume. I’m hoping to be finished with everything by Sunday. I have button holes, lining to attach, one seam to close, one hem, and buttons to sew on and the Husband sews buttons for me because I is lazy. If I can get it all done on Sunday then the rest of the week leading up to the party will be for cleaning and cooking. I really really hope it works out that way.

That’s really all I have to say. It’s really and truly sad, isn’t it? I will hopefully remember to bring a camera to Rhinebeck and get a post in. Although I do owe about 4 more project posts and I’m sadly behind on that so who knows what I’m going to get going.

Holy crap. A post 2 days in a row

So either October 20 or 21 I will be driving to the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY with my local knitta (and crochet) girls. Who from my blogosphere will I be seeing there? I think we are leaning toward Oct 20 but I’m not 100% sure yet.

The next question is how insane will I get buying yarn. I’ve been really good this year and am even shrinking the yarn mountain! I know! Will wonders never end? BUT so…much…yarn…may…lose….control….urgh. Maybe I should take bets on how much I spend….

FO: Blanket Squares

Yarn: Encore Plymouth Yarn (75 % Acrylic, 25 % Wool)
Needle: US 8

My knitting group is making a blanket as a charity project. Each member who wanted to participate had to knit or crochet 2 12×12 squares and someone other than me will be putting the squares together (thank all that is good an holy). I know this was for charity and I know I enjoyed making both patterns, but my goodness did I HATE, LOATHE, and REVILE this project. I didn’t like the yarn one bit–it hurt my hands–and trying to hit 12×12 even with a gauge swatch seemed harder than performing open heart surgery on myself, blindfolded, with one hand tied behind my back, and drunk.

I did choose patterns that I wanted to try and was absolutely in love with so that helped me finish. The cable trees are from “A Third Treasury of Knitted Patterns” by Barbara Walker (at least, I think it’s that edition) and I can’t remember where I found the quilt-style blanket.

Once the blanket is complete, I’ll try to get a photo.

 

I know I’ve said it before but…

I’ve often joked here about my “yarn addiction” and how my yarn mountain could kill if it were to fall over. Of course, it’s all in good fun. At the beginning of the year, I set up a New Year’s resolution to only buy yarn if I need it for a specific project. How hard could that be?

Do you see where this is going?

I bought yarn this weekend.

My friend invited me and another lady to two shops up north. I went. I told the Husband that I wouldn’t buy yarn unless it was really cheap on sale AND for a Made by Hand project. It can’t be hard to stick to that, right?

I think at that point is when the viewers at home start to hide their eyes because they just can’t watch the character make an idiot of him/herself.

We walked into the first yarn store, one I’m not fond of. The store is small and overrun by yarn. There are paths between the mountains that is only wide enough for one and there is so much yarn, it prevents you from seeing the stock behind it.

I was strong. I drooled over some cotton blends. Oggled some sock yarn with my friend. Fondled even more alpaca. I was about to leave without purchasing a thing. Then, there it was. Beautiful colorways of Lorna’s Laces. I bought 3 skeins of the blue photographed at the top and the brown lower down.

I could only control the fact that I didn’t go more crazy. I had justifications for each skein–I want to make cabled socks for the Husband so the brown would be good or the colors on the other set was too pretty to pass up. It was as if I was watching myself from above as this mad woman took over and molested yards and yards of yarn.

Then we went to my favorite store in the same town. I was strong with the guilt of the last purchase. I passed over the 50% cotton because at a final price of $3.+, I still could get cheaper with sugar and cream at Michael’s.

But of course, I wasn’t done.

I found the Superwash Cascade 220 that is photographed above. I thought it would be perfect for homeless men (Made by Hand again). It’s wool so it’s warm and superwash so it should wash okay. Of course it’s not too cheap, but I have a discount at that store. I picked it up.

I have broken the resolution and my promise to myself that day. And while I joke about my addiction here, I’m starting to think that I really and truly do have a problem. I can’t walk into a yarn store without buying something and that’s not good.

Of course I had a similar problem with shoes and worked my way through it. That said, I may have worked my way through the shoes because of the yarn. And I have yet to photograph the fabulous 3 3/4″ heels for my sister-in-law’s wedding. Absolutely beautiful.

Where was I?  Yarn addiction.

I think I need to stop this now. It’s getting to the point of bad. My first step will be to only go into a yarn store if, and only if,  I need yarn. I’m also  restarting my New Year’s resolution, let it be a new spring resolution. After that, we’ll see. Right now I just need to take it one day at a time…