Tag: yarn stash

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I Know

I know. Really, I know. But it couldn’t be helped. We went on a road trip to Montgomery, AL to watch my nephew play baseball for the Chattanoga Lookouts.

It was the same time Hobby Lobby was having their clearance sale and if you know the stores in Chicago, you know the clearance wasn’t going to last long. I was all content to pass it by until we arrived at our hotel in Madison, TN. There was a Hobby Lobby right down the street from the hotel. Still I resisted. I didn’t need yarn – OK. I had just purchased stuff from HB and didn’t need to go back.

So, we drove on to Montgomery (after a stop in Birmingham to pick up my brother and nephew.) And there, right across the street from our hotel in Plattville, AL. Hobby Lobby. I swear, I wasn’t going to go but as it happened, I needed black yarn for one of the projects I brought with me and they were having their regular 30% off sale. So, over I went.

And there was a bunch of cotton on sale. And I am doing a bunch of stuff with cotton. I got the black yarn, some cotton yarn and some other stuff. My haul was less than $50.

But there was a slight emptiness. I left the hand dyed yarn behind. It’s a three weight and I don’t usually deal in that. But there a hat I want to make – for the longest time – that looks good in sock yarn or three weight. It’s this classic right here. You know the hat.

We were set to leave Tuesday morning and Mr. Honey wanted to leave before check out time at 11:00. The store opened at 9 and I was gonna take some luggage down to the car while he was still sleeping and take that 3 minute ride. But he got up and I confessed what I wanted to do and he was good with it. We packed up got in the car and he drove me over.

I found the green on sale – which is great. I need it to go with the pink for the stocking cap I want to make. Found the hand dyed, which I knew I wasn’t going to buy a lot of. I can get two beanies out of each skein. So seven skeins was enough. The haul was less than the first one. All told, I spent maybe $70. Not bad.

But yes, I know. Ton o’yarn. But I know what I want to use it for. The furry yarn for cuffs on hats and gloves. The beanies from the hand dyed and the anti-pill. Wash cloths from the cotton. See? There’s a plan. Trust me.

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I Wanted to Buy Yarn

I wanted to buy yarn. My Covid test came back positive the other day and that threw me for a little bit of a loop. The only reason I took the test was because I had a procedure scheduled. Needless to say, the surgery was delayed because I was going to be in quarantine for five days.

I thought I should get myself some self pity yarn. I headed to this page. But then I turned my head and saw this. And it’s not all in the photo. My year of yarning dangerously was already in serious trouble and we are still in January.

Does not bode well for the rest of the year. The yarn sat in my cart and it was on clearance and now it’s sold out. I clearly don’t need it and it was going to be a lame excuse to purchase yarn, anyway.

I work from home. Mr. Honey and I manage to stay out of each others’ way even after the move. Even when we are now on the same level. I have very mild symptoms so, really, it’s like any other day except I can’t go anywhere. I wasn’t going there to begin with. My quaratine is up tomorrow and the big plan is to go to the Post Office and pick up groceries. See, this is how urgent life gets for me.

I’m still in the midst of orders so I am not in the frame of mind of appreciating yarn as much as I just grab it and go. There are several packages I have yet to open. I did buy them to use for orders and I don’t need to do that yet. I have a full design board so I will use them down the road. This is maybe 10% of my total stash. You see why I am in the year of not getting fiber unless I need it.

 

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Never Too Much

There is never too much yarn. Even when I say there is. There really isn’t

This is part of my stash

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is too

stash 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

So is this:

stash 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep:

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s more at the house. You don’t see all that’s stuffed in the closet. I admire the way Ross and Crystal have their yarn rooms arranged. I just don’t want to do that because I don’t have the mindset to keep it that organized. I’m doing good to have the bins arranged the way I do in the studio. I’m gonna stay in my lane. There’s no need in trying to be something I ain’t and something I don’t want to be. It would be nice but it would not be me.

Even so, there’s never too much.

It’s time for me to buy yarn. I purchase yarn twice a year and I was hoping for Herrschners but the virus stalled their plans but a few friends and I are planning a road trip up there anyway. I am in search of a new basic yarn and it looks like I’ve selected this:

 

 

The road trip to Wisconsin is to pick this up. I may also pick up some other yarns while I’m there but that’s basically it. Maybe some Jeans yarn cuz that’s still my favorite yarn. I just made something from it that I will show to you.

I am also looking to replace the Sugarwheel and I still think that’s going to be with Cakes Blues from Ice Yarns.Ice Yarns may be replacing other Hobby Lobby yarns though the Premier site looks tasty.

Someone may have just  placed an order for some Universal yarn from that site. In the middle of writing this post. Not saying who. But if they did, they will be getting 10 skeins, 5 different colors and the price with shipping comes to $3.00 a ball for wool/acrylic blend pretty colors. Just sayin’. It could have happened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I Do Not Knit

I am not someone who knits. I do not knit. That sounds surprising to some. But I used to be someone who knits. But now, I am a knitter.

There is a difference. And it isn’t an elitist thing. There are people who knit and there are knitters. Want to know the difference?

someone who knits doesn’t have much of a stash, if any at all. They go to the craft store to purchase the yarn they need for their project and nothing more. 

Knitters have a stash. When we go to get yarn, we buy it for the project we’re doing and for the one we haven’t thought of yet but we know this six balls of yarn will be perfect for it.

That same knitter will repeat buying yarn again before creating the nameless, faceless project the six balls of yarn were supposed to go to. 

Those who know how to knit are far more generous than knitters are. We will give away yarn in small amounts. There are exceptions, Crystal on YouTube gives away an insane amount of yarn. We won’t give you our best yarn but we’ll give you something. Someone who knits will give you what they have. Really, what choice is there? They don’t have a stash. They just have some yarn. Again, this isn’t a dig. Sometimes I wish I were back there.

There are many other differences between the two. But there’s no shade. Every knitter was someone who knit. We just became obsessed. For me, I’ve always been a little obsessive compulsive. When I was into books, I had tons of books. I was at the bookstore every week. Same thing when I was into gardening. 

I have more than 1000 balls of yarn and it’s because knitting has held my attention for so long. I turned it into a business and it remains a spiritual gift. I am surrounded with yarn and almost every day I look at adding more. I have limited myself to buying twice a year. The last buy was in May. The next one is December.

The countdown has begun.

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Out of Sight

Just the other day I was lamenting about yarns that have been discontinued. I was saddened because it won’t be available to me. It was a setup for a period of mourning. But then I saw this. These are in my bag for the items in my new collection.

These are yarns I’ve never used before. This is a rough photo of them and they are gorgeous. The Verbena will become Basic Beanies and the Chunky Cake will be a cowl.

This isn’t a matter of out of sight, out of mind. It’s more of an acceptance of the things I cannot change. I won’t be able to bring back discontinued colors or lines. It makes no sense to hold on to them so with each use, it will be bittersweet.

That being said, I must also confess to some fiber infidelity. The Caron Chunky Cake is in a color called Cherries Jubilee. I’ve been wanting to work with it for weeks and finally the chance came with this new collection. There is to be one of the field made with this yarn in the new collection. Just one. That’s the plan. 

I was up in the office where the caged and free range yarn live. I was sitting at the desk waiting for a software upgrade to finish when out of the corner of my eye I saw another chunky cake. This one was in Dolce de Leche. So beautiful. There was a crochet hook, a couple sizes too big, but still.

It was over in an hour. My fiber infidelity. But we have a beautiful cowl as a memory. I don’t know how to break it to the cherries jubilee. Thinking I should keep it to myself for the moment. Maybe fess up when it notices the new cowl. There is another of the same cowl in the collection after this one. I could save it for that one. Out of sight, etc.

I would call myself a yarn harlot but, you know, that’s already taken.

 

 

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Cake Yarns

For some reason, I cannot explain, I joined a group dedicated to cake yarns. I love those things but I don’t know what compelled me to join a group that revered them enough to form a cult. And then, because I apparently want to do unexplainable things, I decided to pull 10 skeins of the stuff from the free range to take a picture to post to the group.You know, to show I wasn’t some sort of cake yarn group troll.

I did not take the photo – I found this one – and I will not post it to the group. I find it a little creepy that I have a photo of cake yarn, ignore the skein on the right. I will admit I collected six balls before I decided I was a little nuts for even considering it.

OK, now I am curious about how many cakes I have running around. A quick glance shows me: Caron Big Cakes (3 colors), Caron Cakes, Caron Tea Cakes and Chunky cakes, Mandala cakes (in about 5 colors), Yarn Bee Sugar Wheel (about 7 colors.) I know there are some Bernat Pops and some Sweet Rolls and a cake from Plymouth running the range as well. My yarn sweet tooth has enough to gnaw on for a bit. I have it in mind to add some cakes from Ice Yarns to the range. I thought I was doing well to pass those up when I ordered. Nest time they’re mine.

Cake yarns play a role in the next, yet unnamed, collection. I’ve been using Caron Big Cakesfor the Taffy Pull scarves and the new collection will introduce an entirely new item which will be made with chunky yarn in solids and yarns that either stripe or color block. Right up cake yarn alley. Oh, Imma have to tell the mayor of Knitsville we should name something Cake Yarn Alley. Cuz that’s just too good a name to pass up.

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Shenanigans

I love Hayfield Colour Rich Chunky. I have a few skeins of it in I think three colors. It’s soft and squishy and I will get to review if this month because I am using it to make the Lacy Slouch hat. Here’s the thing: it’s discontinued. Can’t get more of it. Not even to be ripped off from EBay. No more of it. The closest I can find to sub for it is Premier Puzzle Yarn. But there’s nothing like the original one you find and I love the chunky stuff.

I started making the hat Saturday night after finishing the prayer shawl and yesterday morning right before I went downstairs, I thought that perhaps I shouldn’t continue making the hat with the Chunky. The colors weren’t lining up the right way for me and it would look a little too distracting because the marbling would look bad. Perhaps it would have been better if I frogged it and started over 

with a different yarn. Say, like this one. 

This skein, which happened to be right outside the 

office door, was ready to spring into action. I took the skein, went downstairs and picked up the hat, which was really nothing more yet than the brim, and prepared to frog. But then a strange thing happened. The chunky made a protest. I was hit with, wait, this doesn’t look so bad. Where did I get the idea this wouldn’t look good?

From the other skein, of course. Shenanigans. Yarn shenanigans. I don’t think I’ve ever run into it before. One skein of print yarn dissing another. That’s almost rude. I actually have the I Love This Yarn – Print in gray and black. I used it to make the Basic Beanie for this collection so I’ll be able to compare the two side by side. But I never expected to have a rogue skein that wasn’t in the same colorway want to Bogart in and replace a hat that’s already started. 

Of course now the question becomes: do I let the little bugger get away with it? Do I knit the next Lace Slouchy in the Strawberry Jam? It would look cute. It would stripe in those red and black shades. No denying it. But can we reward such behavior? Wouldn’t that encourage other skeins to put down their brethren? I want fiber tolerance. At the very least, the skein has gotten to come downstairs with the elite skeins.That could motivate others to follow.

There is only one Lace Slouchy in the next collection. I think a good consequence would be for the Strawberry Jam to sit that one out and we can discuss it again in collection 5. That’ll teach it.

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Talking Back

It surprises no one in Knitsville that people speak to their yarn. It should surprise no one that there is a habit of the yarn talking back. There’s no real point in speaking with yarn if it’s not going to engage in the conversation.

Sometimes yarn even starts first.

My yarn is (mostly) in my office. About half of it is caged (in bins) and the rest is free range (not in bins, might be in a bag, could be just hanging out.) There is not a day that goes by without one of them trying to get my attention and wanting out of the cage or off the range. They want to make it to the living room where the yarn in waiting is waiting.

I am allowed only one bin of yarn in the living room so Mr. Honey doesn’t feel as if his life has been taken over by fiber. It has been but he wants the illusion. So, there is one bin of yarn downstairs. One big bin and then there’s free range yarn down there as well. But that’s because I thought it would be easier than having more free range yarn in the office. Just keep whatever was down there down there. All 100 skeins of it.

It is all nicely piled up and from that, every month, I select at least 10 fibers to work on my collection. Those yarns are put into a bag and are resting at my work seat. (My mother-in law’s chair. She was quite the crafter.) That is the place all other yarns want to be. And they let me know it. Right now, there is a group of Homespun letting me know they’re ready to unite and become a prayer shawl and just this morning, a skein of Yarn Bee Sugar Wheel is telling me he would be ideal for that shawl design I have in mind. He would be. And while the Homespun will surely become a prayer shawl, the Sugar Wheel does not have such a guaranteed future. Did I mention there’s 100 skeins in the living room?

I have a great relationship with my yarn: it talks to me; I’m talking back. We can’t always get together but we don’t want to be apart. Some days, it works better than my relationships with people. 

 

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The Knitsville Yarn Barn

Visiting Knitsville – The Yarn Barn

There is a lovely place in Knitsville called The Yarn Barn. It is filled with fiber. Mostly acrylic but every once in a while there is a lovely wool blend, even some silk and camel’s hair. But mostly acrylic. It used to be quite organized but it no longer is. Marie Kondo would jump for joy at the sight of this room in our house.

I have more yarn than I can use in a year. I think I could go a couple or three years using one ball a day before I would run out. Even so, I still have to pull myself back from buying more.

I love the stuff. I like looking at and thinking of the possibilities. But even I know I have too much of a good thing. I have sold some of it and there is an idea running inside my head of doing a KonMari on the lot and bagging some of it up to sell at a craft show. I believe this is the year I will make that idea into a real thing. The craft show is already in the planning stages in my head.

Having this much fiber has also changed the way I will run my business. I am going to concentrate a great deal more on my Ready to Ship section so I will be buying only the fiber I need for those custom and made to order fibers. Right now, most of the shop is made to order and this year, I hope to make at least 25% of it Ready to Ship.

That satisfies on several levels: I won’t be buried in made to order orders and I will be able to use some of the yarn that has been looking at me from their cages. They will fulfill their destiny and become objects of art and usefulness. Isn’t that what we all want from life?