Realizations

UPDATE - New Sock Yarns added to the Shop today 2/10/05 - including the superwash!

I've come to realize that I don't knit for the Process or the Product. I enjoy the process and learning new techniques and finding my way through a pattern, and I also enjoy the end product, feeling my feet toasty warm in a freshly knit pair of socks - BUT I don't think either of these sum up why I knit. I knit because I LOVE yarn. I say yarn and not fiber because whether I'm knitting, dyeing, or spinning it's the yarn I adore not just the fluff or color which the yarn is derived from. I can't seem to stop myself when I'm at the LYS - especially at lunch time between stressful mornings and afternoons which drag (it doesn't help that I have 2 great stores within a few blocks distance from the office). I want to touch it, hold it up to my cheek and feel how soft it is, squish it - love that squish factor, admire the colors and sparkle - if there is any, and most of all HORDE IT! I could totally fall asleep in a giant pile of yarn and be very content (it must be true that the longer you have a pet the more like it you become - but cat nip does nothing for me...yet).

With all that said - why is it I sell my yarn and not just keep it? I think because once I've created it I feel as if it is already a finished project and have no desire to knit with it. I do keep a skein here and there but for the most part once it's spun or dyed, I'm done. I also like to see my yarn go off to good homes and be made into amazing projects which I am SO not qualified to knit (although I am getting better).

So are you as addicted to yarn as I am? Do you buy yarn and then search for a pattern to use it? Do you have an ungodly amount of lone balls of precious-amazing-gorgeous yarn that you just HAD to have? Have you made a bazillion scarves because you needed to make room for more yarn? If you've answered yes to one or all of these you are a:



So, in order to help you with your addiction I will be updating the SHOP tomorrow with about 20 skeins of yarn! Oh did you think I was going to give you a 12 step program to kick the yarn habit? HA - not me, nope, NEVER!

In my update tomorrow you'll notice I will have a new base yarn available - it's 100% SUPERWASH wool - and it looks and feels very much like an extremely popular yarn...(koigu)take a look for yourself

oh yeah that's the flickering flame colorway in superwash. It is so vibrant it's actually hard to get a good picture of it. I officially LOVE superwash - it takes the dye so amazingly - I'm thinking that I might stop using my other base yarn in favor of this. It is pricier for me so the skeins will be $22.00 but I feel it's worth it - and you get 485 yards!!! you can get 2 pairs of shorter socks with this amount - a full 4 oz.

Here is a sock knit from my first test skein:

The wonderful Beth graciously agreed to be my test knitter since I knew I wouldn't have any kind of time to knit an entire sock. It's a simple sock - basic stockinette with a 2x2 rib cuff - I think it really shows off the crazy carnival colors.

Here is a close up of the fabric. It's nice and sturdy yet comfortable. Yes I do know that there are white spots in the dye job - as I said, this was a test skein and I wasn't really concerned with perfection I wanted to see how each color would react with the yarn and I wasn't all that careful about painting it. I have one skein left of this colorway which will be up tomorrow (Spots and all - I like them!) but with the other colorways I really strive to have no white spots - although I am only human! So Live long, prosper and keep amassing yarn - you'll never know when you'll need it!