traveling stash enhancement

A few new yarn shop adventures. Two summers ago we visited Yarn Company, which I liked, and Uptown Fibers. Because of construction, Yarn Company is only open Thurs - Saturday, so we didn't get there.

We visited Uptown Fibers and my mother found a yarn she liked for a shawl.



I'm going to make the Malagash Square Shawl with it. This yarn is kind of hard to photograph because of the shine. It's a variegated blue/green plied with a steel silver/grey. There's some fluffier less spun pieces in there that make this a very interesting texture knitted up.

Then we were at Craft 2000 and all their yarn was on closeout. I found this random yarn called Festival Mix Fiber and got it. Apparently this name is applied to any random discontinued yarn manufacturers have on their shelves, because I have found a million different examples of this label and none of them are anything close to what I have.



It's a fingering or maybe even a lace weight yarn in variegated deep pinks. I can't find yardage amounts for it, so I'll probably measure it out on my skein winder when I get home and figure out how much is there. I'm thinking of making a Shipwreck Shawl out of it to hang on the wall for art.

Sock addiction and baby hats...

I made a few baby hats for a neighbor when I went home for Christmas.



Basic grey hat that should be stretchy enough to fit newborn to 18 months.

Pattern: Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat by Tonya Wagner.
Yarn: Red Heart Ltd. Soft Yarn Solids




Same pattern except I added a pom pom.
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Brites

I definitely prefer the Red Heart to the Caron... but the mother wanted bright blue and this is all I had.



Went to the yarn store today to use a bit of my Christmas money. I'm going to have to avoid buying more yarn for a few months. I've become semi-addicted to making socks. I'm not a huge fan of hugely decorated and patterned socks, I made two pair of basic socks for Alex and I and am working on a third pair for Alex that are ribbed on top of the foot to fit better.



Yarn: Froehlich Wolle Maxi Ringel

I made Alex's first socks out of a different colorway of the same yarn. Unfortunately... the factory that makes this yarn has shut down, so what's left in the stores is all that will ever exist. I fricken love this stuff.

Bought two more skeins of sock yarn today.


Berrocco Comfort Sock that feels absolutely fantastic compared to every other sock yarn and,


ONline Supersocke 100 Florida-Color

The Berrocco is definitely for my feet (I'm a selfish-knitter... Alex is the only person who gets anything more complicated than a hat). I've decided that I'm actually going to find a decent pattern for these socks, no more plain ones. I just wish more free sock patterns were toe-up. I can't stand cuff-down socks, though I may venture out on that plane just for this.

The ONline... dunno yet if it's for Alex or me. Probably will end up for him, as I only wear hand-knitted socks in the house and he'll wear them with shoes. One can only have so many pair of slipper socks.


At my last trip to the same LYS, I purchased two skeins of Fantasy Dark Horse Yarns.



They only had two skeins then, and I looked today and they only have solid colors now. I love this colorway... but what am I going to make with only 2 skeins? I don't really wear hats, I make but never wear scarves, and it's too girly of a color mix to make a hat for Alex.

Ideas?

One skein down

I bought two skeins (446 yards a piece) of the Snuggly Wuggly for Yosemite, knowing that I always have a tendency of finishing pieces with significantly less yardage than listed.

Still, I felt that 70 yards short of the minimum required plus the fact that I was considering 3/4 sleeves might require a third skein.

I was prepared to return to Michael's to buy the third. I even held onto my 50% of coupon and planned to go back before it expires this Saturday.

But I did not know that I would make it this far with only one skein:



Note that there is even a small mess of yarn left from that one skein after working the entire body and the left front. It may, in fact, be enough to knit the right front.

Which I guess means with the second skein, even after I finish I can make some sort of hat. And save $2 and gas money.

Lack of yarn inspiration

I've got no new knitting. I keep making an effort to find yarn for Yosemite, but I fall short every time. I've ventured into two different LYS in the Orlando area while visiting this weekend -- even dragging along Alex and a friend V, both of whom I have discovered are not a very good yarn shoppers -- I've perused online selections.

I think my major thing going right now is that I utterly refuse to spend a lot of money on yarn. After surviving a year on scholarship money and seeing how desperate things can get, I am disgusted by project after project on Ravelry that requires ridiculous yardage of fine yarns.

I suppose I understand treating one's self every once in awhile. And I admit that when I went to the LYS to buy for my first real sweater, I bought over $100 of yarn for just that one sweater. And that sweater ended up a mess, mind you.


My Talia Vest (which, yes, still needs a neckline edging and buttons and blocking) used one full skein and MAYBE 1/6 of a second skein of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn. That's $2.79 for 355 yards.

My Cherie Amour used 1 1/2 skeins of Lion Brand's Homespun, and I felt like I splurged laying down $5.49 per skein there.

But no matter what discount bin I look in, I still feel like it's the biggest rip off in the world to pay $7 for a skein "on sale" that only has 70 yards. I mean, really? Do you realize you're paying 10 cents a yard?

I guess I'm just disappointed that a craft that was supposed to be so economical and handy "back in the day" has become a rich hobby.


So if any of you have any suggestions for:

a) a place online (or in the Orlando/Jacksonville areas) that is genuinely cheap on yarn that isn't Red Heart -- no offense Red Heart, you just aren't meant for wearing near my skin.

b) a "cheap" yarn you've used that you really like that is sold in chain stores or

c) where I can find designers and free designs that utilize economical yarn options


please let me know...