I Did a Bit of Shopping!
The two 'fun' yarns were on for 50% off, and I thought my GD, Kate, would love knitting scarves with these two balls. The book was on for 50% off at a garden store - you never know what you will find in these stores! Anyway, they are part of Kate's birthday gift. I mailed it off yesterday, along with that beautiful robin-egg blue shrug and a pair of 'spa' socks and some foot cream. I remember teens love to have a 'girly' day and so I thought the cream and socks would be fun. Never mind, grandmothers love 'girly' days too.
Kate is a knitter, so I try to encourage her wherever and whenever I can. This yarn was originally $9.95 a ball, and I know she would never buy it, but grandma's can buy it. I know now that I would never ever buy 'cheap' yarn to teach someone to knit! I am realizing more and more that quality in yarn really makes the difference. That does not always mean you have to buy the most expensive yarn either.
For any of you who listen to podcasts, I would highly recommend the ones that Kelly is doing for Knitpicks. She is the owner, but her podcasts are great. Podcast #4 is about wool. She talks about the various terms for the strand of wool, the properties of wool, and the reason some of us find it 'itchy. Now I know why I do not find superwash merino itchy. Listen and you will know too, or if you don't listen to podcasts, write and I will give you the secret - well it is not really a secret, but I often wondered why and she told me!!
This Rowan Cotton Glace was on for 25% off and I just could not resist the colour. It is similar to the jade colour of the Garnstudio Muskat that I am making the 'lace' ss cardi from for myself. This has no real sheen to it, but the Muskat has real sheen. I want to wear the Moss Stitch pullover that I am using the Cotton Glace for all year round, so I think the lack of sheen is a good property! The pattern for the moss stitch pullover is in the book Debbie Bliss Easy Knits. I do not have the book here now, as it is a library book. It is a simple long sleeve pullover with a simple neck with a bit of a 'slit' in the front. The slit is only about two inches, so it is not revealing and that is exactly what I want. I have one question about the pattern though - for the large size, it asks for 1800+ yards. Now I think that is quite a bit, but just to be sure I do not run out, I have just over 2000 yards - there will probably be enough left to make a hat, baby sweater or some other small project!!
This sweater is in the queue after the simple baby sweater and lace cardi - once one of them comes off the needles, then I can cast on for the moss stitch. I made a promise to myself to never have more than four projects on the needles at once and so far I have kept this promise. I know that I knit a lot and am reasonably fast, but I get easily overwhelmed! If I have too much on the go, I accomplish a lot less. If I keep things organized and down to a reasonable number, I get lots more accomplished. It took me about 60 years to learn this - well I always knew it, but it took that long to accept it and just get on with the way I operate.
You know, now that I think about it, getting older is not bad at all - I do not think about the alternative. I know myself a whole lot better than I did at say 30, I like myself a whole lot better and I have almost stopped trying to please others. It is tough enough at times to please myself, so why bother with others. There was a great quote in our newspaper today - actually it was in the insert for the graduation photos from our three local highschools. Here it is ......
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind! ~~ Dr. Seuss
This is another Handmaiden yarn - Scrunchy Silk and it is designated for a large shawl/scarf. I had admired this yarn - due to its colourway - for some time, but when it was 25% off, what is a girl to do!
These two yarns are designated for EZ simple baby sweater - they are 50% viscose and 50% acrylic. The yarn is soft and washable - all things needed for a baby sweater. Besides, the colours are great for a wee one.
I think I did very well at the yarn sale, and I supported another LYS in my area. I see lots of buys on yarns on the internet and I have bought from those shops too, but I would be so lost without my local shops and so I need to help them by shopping there. I also take in articles I have knit to show them, because when I worked in a quilt/fabric shop, it was always so pleasant to see the customer come back with their finished item! I also tell them when I read a knitting book that I think they would benefit from, such as "No Sheep For You". I think that the information on the various fibres is invaluable to a yarn shop owner, because I know that I have been there and customers want to know and also when they want to knit something with a yarn that just would not be suitable, it is great when the shop owner can tell them why another yarn would be better. Sometimes they cannot persuade the customer, but then again we have all knit things from the 'wrong' fibre. Is that a class in the School of Hard Knocks?
The two 'fun' yarns were on for 50% off, and I thought my GD, Kate, would love knitting scarves with these two balls. The book was on for 50% off at a garden store - you never know what you will find in these stores! Anyway, they are part of Kate's birthday gift. I mailed it off yesterday, along with that beautiful robin-egg blue shrug and a pair of 'spa' socks and some foot cream. I remember teens love to have a 'girly' day and so I thought the cream and socks would be fun. Never mind, grandmothers love 'girly' days too. Kate is a knitter, so I try to encourage her wherever and whenever I can. This yarn was originally $9.95 a ball, and I know she would never buy it, but grandma's can buy it. I know now that I would never ever buy 'cheap' yarn to teach someone to knit! I am realizing more and more that quality in yarn really makes the difference. That does not always mean you have to buy the most expensive yarn either.
For any of you who listen to podcasts, I would highly recommend the ones that Kelly is doing for Knitpicks. She is the owner, but her podcasts are great. Podcast #4 is about wool. She talks about the various terms for the strand of wool, the properties of wool, and the reason some of us find it 'itchy. Now I know why I do not find superwash merino itchy. Listen and you will know too, or if you don't listen to podcasts, write and I will give you the secret - well it is not really a secret, but I often wondered why and she told me!!
This Rowan Cotton Glace was on for 25% off and I just could not resist the colour. It is similar to the jade colour of the Garnstudio Muskat that I am making the 'lace' ss cardi from for myself. This has no real sheen to it, but the Muskat has real sheen. I want to wear the Moss Stitch pullover that I am using the Cotton Glace for all year round, so I think the lack of sheen is a good property! The pattern for the moss stitch pullover is in the book Debbie Bliss Easy Knits. I do not have the book here now, as it is a library book. It is a simple long sleeve pullover with a simple neck with a bit of a 'slit' in the front. The slit is only about two inches, so it is not revealing and that is exactly what I want. I have one question about the pattern though - for the large size, it asks for 1800+ yards. Now I think that is quite a bit, but just to be sure I do not run out, I have just over 2000 yards - there will probably be enough left to make a hat, baby sweater or some other small project!!This sweater is in the queue after the simple baby sweater and lace cardi - once one of them comes off the needles, then I can cast on for the moss stitch. I made a promise to myself to never have more than four projects on the needles at once and so far I have kept this promise. I know that I knit a lot and am reasonably fast, but I get easily overwhelmed! If I have too much on the go, I accomplish a lot less. If I keep things organized and down to a reasonable number, I get lots more accomplished. It took me about 60 years to learn this - well I always knew it, but it took that long to accept it and just get on with the way I operate.
You know, now that I think about it, getting older is not bad at all - I do not think about the alternative. I know myself a whole lot better than I did at say 30, I like myself a whole lot better and I have almost stopped trying to please others. It is tough enough at times to please myself, so why bother with others. There was a great quote in our newspaper today - actually it was in the insert for the graduation photos from our three local highschools. Here it is ......
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind! ~~ Dr. Seuss
This is another Handmaiden yarn - Scrunchy Silk and it is designated for a large shawl/scarf. I had admired this yarn - due to its colourway - for some time, but when it was 25% off, what is a girl to do! 
These two yarns are designated for EZ simple baby sweater - they are 50% viscose and 50% acrylic. The yarn is soft and washable - all things needed for a baby sweater. Besides, the colours are great for a wee one.I think I did very well at the yarn sale, and I supported another LYS in my area. I see lots of buys on yarns on the internet and I have bought from those shops too, but I would be so lost without my local shops and so I need to help them by shopping there. I also take in articles I have knit to show them, because when I worked in a quilt/fabric shop, it was always so pleasant to see the customer come back with their finished item! I also tell them when I read a knitting book that I think they would benefit from, such as "No Sheep For You". I think that the information on the various fibres is invaluable to a yarn shop owner, because I know that I have been there and customers want to know and also when they want to knit something with a yarn that just would not be suitable, it is great when the shop owner can tell them why another yarn would be better. Sometimes they cannot persuade the customer, but then again we have all knit things from the 'wrong' fibre. Is that a class in the School of Hard Knocks?
posted by Peg-woolinmysoup | 9:01 AM
6 Comments:
Looks like you got some good buys there. I am interested in how you like the cotton glace. The yarn for the shawl is a wonderful blend of colors. Very unusual! I like your Dr. Seuss quote. I try to be like that but it doesn't always work!
Nice haul! It looks like quite a variety of different projects are in your near future. I too, love my local yarn stores. I love to have a chance to feel the yarn and get a true sense of colour and texture, which you just can't get from an on-line retailer. Unfortunately, I won't have quite so many in-person options when I live in St. John's!
I did a little LYS supporing today. Picked up some of the 4-Ply alpaca from Uptown for the Thermal Pattern in the last Knitty.
What do you think of the Cotton Glace?
Thanks for your podcast recommendations. I started listening to the KnitPicks one after reading about it here. I've only listened to one so far, and it was okay.
I also listen to Cast On (of course) and Sticks and Strings. Those two are my favourite so far.
Peg, I love your eye for a bargain, and thanks for saying you can have four projects on the needles at any time because that 'allows' me to start a fourth!!
Gosh, you have had fun on your yarn trawl today, haven't you? What is Speed Knits like? (don't tell me you didn't peep inside before packing it up!)
I really must get round to podcasts. Haven't worked out what they are yet, let alone gone looking for them, but the time is nigh, I feel. Someone enlighten me!
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