Since I live up in the Frozen North, I tend to do a lot of my yarn shopping online. There is one LYS here that I patronize, and I try to look there before I place an order, but it's not a huge place, and doesn't have the largest selection. Anyway, placing a yarn order is something I find terribly exciting. The decisions, the colours, the
sales! It's agonizing bliss. However, I find that often, by the time the yarn makes its' way to my door, the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. I'm happy that it's here, but that feeling of excitement, of acquiring this wonderful new thing is gone. This, I'm pleased to say, is not one of those times! I wonder if it's to do with my perception of the quality of yarn. If I make an order of good old wool, for example, it's not so thrilling. This yarn you see before you, though, is a bit of luxury, at least to me. 11 balls of machine washable DK Merino wool, a ball of Cashmerino, a ball of Regia Cotton in Surf, 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces DK Swirl, and a ball of laceweight Misti Alpaca.
You all know that I'm a frugal soul, and am just as excited to bring home my $4.00 recycled cotton from You-Know-Where, but this order was very special for me. So that makes me wonder.... am I a Yarn Snob? Is the fact that this yarn is "brand name" make it better, or have I been seduced by the wonderful fibre it's made of? It's like buying kid's clothes. I do a lot of my clothing shopping at garage sales and thrift stores, partly because of my household budget, and partly because I think it's a shame to buy something new when there's already in existence a perfectly good pair of jeans, or rain coat, or whatever. Anyway, it gets me going when I see that a "brand name" shirt is several dollars more than an equally nice generic shirt. And it bothers me even more that I will pay more to buy the brand name. Sigh.
Anyway, away with the dark thoughts, on with the happy thoughts! Yarn! My plans for this bounty of yarn are (so far) as follows:
1) The DK Merino - I bought this with the sweater Coral Crossing, from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 in mind. This was designed by Jennifer Appleby, who I've mentioned before. She lives up here in northern BC. My original plan was to make it in superwash, but my plans have been thwarted right and left. Then I came across this, and thought it might fit the bill. It is machine washable, which is nice, and I love the shade of green!
2) The Cashmerino - I just had to get a ball of this, after all the talk I've heard about how soft it is. Everyone is right! It is sooo soft, and I will likely make a pair of Fetching out of it.
3) Regia Surf - intended to be socks, I was fascinated by the cotton content in it.
4) Lorna's Laces Swirl - my first thought was socks, which I'm sure would knit up very quickly in a DK yarn. However, when it arrived, I realized this is a very soft wool/silk blend, and may not be the best idea for socks. You all know that I'm fast developing an addiction for sock knitting, and I have yearned to make myself a pair of soft and beautiful socks. I may Just Do It.
5) Misti Alpaca Laceweight - again, I had no idea how soft this would be. My original thought in ordering this was for the Swallowtail Shawl in IK. It is so very pretty, and I've seen it knit up beautifully. However, during the wait for it's arrival, I've been noticing these lovely lace wimples. It could just be the weather, but a lace wimple sounds like just the thing!
Now. I can't talk anymore, I need to knit!
Since I live up in the Frozen North, I tend to do a lot of my yarn shopping online. There is one LYS here that I patronize, and I try to look there before I place an order, but it's not a huge place, and doesn't have the largest selection. Anyway, placing a yarn order is something I find terribly exciting. The decisions, the colours, the sales! It's agonizing bliss. However, I find that often, by the time the yarn makes its' way to my door, the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. I'm happy that it's here, but that feeling of excitement, of acquiring this wonderful new thing is gone. This, I'm pleased to say, is not one of those times! I wonder if it's to do with my perception of the quality of yarn. If I make an order of good old wool, for example, it's not so thrilling. This yarn you see before you, though, is a bit of luxury, at least to me. 11 balls of machine washable DK Merino wool, a ball of Cashmerino, a ball of Regia Cotton in Surf, 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces DK Swirl, and a ball of laceweight Misti Alpaca.
You all know that I'm a frugal soul, and am just as excited to bring home my $4.00 recycled cotton from You-Know-Where, but this order was very special for me. So that makes me wonder.... am I a Yarn Snob? Is the fact that this yarn is "brand name" make it better, or have I been seduced by the wonderful fibre it's made of? It's like buying kid's clothes. I do a lot of my clothing shopping at garage sales and thrift stores, partly because of my household budget, and partly because I think it's a shame to buy something new when there's already in existence a perfectly good pair of jeans, or rain coat, or whatever. Anyway, it gets me going when I see that a "brand name" shirt is several dollars more than an equally nice generic shirt. And it bothers me even more that I will pay more to buy the brand name. Sigh.
Anyway, away with the dark thoughts, on with the happy thoughts! Yarn! My plans for this bounty of yarn are (so far) as follows:
1) The DK Merino - I bought this with the sweater Coral Crossing, from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 in mind. This was designed by Jennifer Appleby, who I've mentioned before. She lives up here in northern BC. My original plan was to make it in superwash, but my plans have been thwarted right and left. Then I came across this, and thought it might fit the bill. It is machine washable, which is nice, and I love the shade of green!
2) The Cashmerino - I just had to get a ball of this, after all the talk I've heard about how soft it is. Everyone is right! It is sooo soft, and I will likely make a pair of Fetching out of it.
3) Regia Surf - intended to be socks, I was fascinated by the cotton content in it.
4) Lorna's Laces Swirl - my first thought was socks, which I'm sure would knit up very quickly in a DK yarn. However, when it arrived, I realized this is a very soft wool/silk blend, and may not be the best idea for socks. You all know that I'm fast developing an addiction for sock knitting, and I have yearned to make myself a pair of soft and beautiful socks. I may Just Do It.
5) Misti Alpaca Laceweight - again, I had no idea how soft this would be. My original thought in ordering this was for the Swallowtail Shawl in IK. It is so very pretty, and I've seen it knit up beautifully. However, during the wait for it's arrival, I've been noticing these lovely lace wimples. It could just be the weather, but a lace wimple sounds like just the thing!
Now. I can't talk anymore, I need to knit!
