Sunday, June 26, 2011

And Now... The stash

So.... I have officially become a true knitter.  I have a huge stash of yarn now!  Up until today I have had one box about 1ft by 1ft by 2ft full of yarn leftovers, not really any unused skeins or balls.  The only other yanr I had was/is dedicated to works in progress.  Recently I have bought several balls of yarn from Big Lots and my local yarn shop.  Yes I am a fan of cheap synthetics, so that is most of what I have.  Occasionally I splurge at the yarn shops, on Etsy, or Ravelry.  And today, Craigslist made my collection of yarns officially a stash.  I bought an entire storage tote box of skeins and balls of yarn, as well as needles, books, and circular looms.  Most of it is partially used skeins, but much of it is untouched!  And yes, most of it is the usual cheap synthetics, including novelty yarn.  And yes I know, all the yarn snobs are cringing right now.  Well, I don't care.  I cannot afford to be a yarn snob and all yarns have their place.  Most of it, is also mystery yarn.  There is only one ball in the whole box with the label, a lone ball of pastel variegated Patons Stretch Sock.  Much of this I consider to be my beginner knitter education yarn.  This is because..... I have a couple friends with kids who want to knit.  This way I can afford to give them yarn, and needles.  I paid $30 for the whole lot, and the great part about that is I am also selling an item to someone tomorrow for $32, so I am ahead by $2.  I love not actually spending any money.  I promise, pictures to come once I finish sorting!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Entry One: A Story to Spin

I have been an off and on knitter from somewhere around Junior High/High School age.  Things always manage to get in the way and I drop it for a while, and then I come back again, more addicted than the time before.  I really think it is here to stay this time.  My current adventures began with a book at Barnes & Noble called Sensual Knits.  I just had to make the halter tie tunic in that book.  So I bought it, and some cheap yarn from my friendly neighborhood Walmart, and got started.  For some reason, this project has never ended up on my Ravelry page.  Now I didn't have ravelry when I started, or completed, this project, so that might be why.

Next comes my discovery of Ravelry and all the amazing free patterns.  And to Walmart I went for more cheap yarn.  I don't really remember what came next.  But eventually I went back to Sensual Knits, and then got yarn from Michael's Arts & Crafts, I guess you could call it an upgrade, and made the vixen camisole.  I have also made the cowl tank out of this book as well.  I love this book!  Thanks to Ravelry, I eventually discovered other yarns, but not until after I purchased my first issue of Vogue Knitting.

Oh my goodness!  That magazine is amazing!  And of course, and advertisement led me to my first "real" sweater from Bergere de France.  Once I found the pattern and ordered it, I checked my mail like a crazy woman until a brown paper envelope showed up from Europe.  My heart sank as I realized the pattern didn't come small enough.  I am petite!  So, on a trip to visit my Grandma in Boise, Idaho, I bought some superwash wool sock yarn!  With that gauge, my sweater turned out just right, if not very slow going.....  And now I knew what something other than acrylic felt like.

On to Ravelry leading me to new yarns.  I eventually got a koi fish inspired sock yarn that became a second, more wild, Vixen Camisole.  I also tracked down a hand dyed yarn from Jill Draper called Hudson in the colorway Lower East Side, that almost reminded me of my favorite fish.  Oh yay!  That became a very altered Pinkerton Shawl from Interweave Knits.  One great thing I can say about Walmart, is I discovered great knitting magazines.  Back to my yarns.  I also discovered Black Cat Fiber Arts on Etsy.  Again, thanks Ravelry.  I talked the dyer/begged her into dying second skeins of two sock yarns I just had to have but needed more yardage.  One became a second Pinkerton Shawl.  Turns out, the pattern suggests a lot more yardage than necessary, so I still have to make the second ball into something.  And the other color is turning into a Citron Shawl.  I am doing an extra repeat because I want it a bit larger, and I am barely going to cut into the second ball of that color.

My koi sock yarn leftovers are currently turning into some fabulous slipper socks from Creative Knitting Magazine.  My leftovers from my Bergere de France sweater, Pinkerton Shawl, and Citron Shawl, may all become some of these cute little socks as well.  Or... maybe some wristers.  I particularly love Toast!

Well...  that seems to be a good intro into my knitting world.  I'll delve more into my knitting, and eventually my spinning, as the urge to write arises.  And hopefully, I am not talking to myself.