I'm a sucker for closeout yarn sales. Especially online closeout yarn sales. Ever since I discovered Herrschner's and its affiliated sites, YarnSale.com and YarnCollection.com, I've been doomed. So much pretty fiber, so little money! Because the stock is mostly closeouts, sometimes the color selections are limited, but I've found enough lovely yarn lately to give spouse heart failure.
Spouse is quite right when he tells me, "When you obsess over something, you really obsess over it."
I refuse to tell you how much money I've spent on yarn in the last month. Even I, in the depths of my obsession, am appalled. But I'll post pictures of the latest order when it arrives sometime next week.
In the meantime, the stitch sampler top is proceeding quite nicely. When I first bought the yarn, I wasn't quite sure about the color...it seemed much more orange in person than in the catalog. However, as the project works up, the color grows on me and becomes more and more beautiful.
Another "sit & knit" for this knit-along is scheduled this afternoon at my LYS.
A friend sent me a crocheted market bag as a gift some time back. Therefore, you may thank her for the inspiration to make my own. Before receiving said bag, it had never occurred to me that such projects would be a productive (and green!) way to make use of yarn left over from previous projects, or yarn that I inherited that is too awful for human consumption, or yarn purchased for another project that didn't work out and ended up frogged. All that dialogue to preface the following photo:
Market bags.
I have a 3rd bag in progress now, and several others planned. No more plastic grocery bags for us! Spouse said I'm going to end up being called the bag lady of Marysville. So be it.
Normally, I don't hide yarn purchases from my spouse. I hid this one. 20 skeins at $14.00 per? Yeah, you'd hide it too.
Of course, posting the evidence on a public blog more than likely defeats the purpose. But, then again, he doesn't read my blog. Either of them. And I'll count on those of you who know spouse not to tell him. It'll be our little secret...until the day I pull out a skein and start using it for its intended project. Then it will be like my clothing or shoe purchases.
"Is that new?" he'll say.
"This?" I'll say. "Oh, no, I've had this for ages!"
I've had a book in my hands more often than yarn over the last couple of weeks. It's hard to juggle these two favorite pastimes when I've never been able to enjoy audiobooks. Reading has always been a tactile experience for me: the weight of the book in my hands, the feel of the paper between my fingers, the scent of the glue and binding (especially if the book is leather-bound!), the crisp sound of a turning page...all these lovely sensual experiences vanish with books-on-tape or -CD.
Maybe the tactile sensation of fabric and yarn is the reason I love fiber arts so much. I know I buy fabric and yarn for their feel at least as often as I buy for color, perhaps more so.
At any rate, these are the two projects I have going right now:
Slouch Rib Cardigan by Cathy Payson for Interweave Knits in Paton Shetland Chunky. This is a "back-burner" project for the moment: it's far too warm to wear the finished product right now. More than likely, I'll pick this one up off and on for the next few months, and concentrate on finishing it when it gets closer to autumn.
Crocheted Crop Cardiganby Monica Brown in Lion Brand Microspun. I plan to finish this one fairly soon and add it to my work wardrobe.
