Yender

Recently, I went on a bit of a bender. A yarn bender. A Yender? It happens to knitters occasionally. For me, it started with a sale at Webs on Cascade 220 (for $4.95 a skein). A good price for a yarn that I love and use a lot. Too good to pass up. And I needed more charcoal gray...and white for an upcoming project. Then of course, it's always a good idea to stock up, especially at such a great price and then I will be paying for shipping anyway, so may as well take advantage of that.

But then I noticed that not all the colors I wanted were available from the Webs sale. So then, naturally, I had to pop over to my other favorite yarn store, Angelikas. I know I can count on Angelikas to have all colors in stock. They've never been out of stock on anything I've wanted and the prices are pretty reasonable. And they ship FAST. So I ordered a few from there. A little of this and a little of that, just to round out the stash a little.

So this is the result. This is all the new yarn, to be added to my burgeoning stash of Cascade 220. I had to buy two new bins for the new yarn, plus some that's been collecting over time, and so my stash has grown from two full plastic bins to four full plastic bins. I wonder if I stopped buying any new yarn right now, how long it would take me to knit all of it? Maybe not a lifetime, but it would sure be a while.

It's a nice balanced selection of colors and don't they look pretty on the window sill, bathed in sunlight?

The neighbor's dog thinks so too.

That was a lot of winding. Many hours in front of the TV, patiently winding skeins. Someday I'll have a swift and winder combo.

Oh Yummy!

Nothing more delicious than new yarn. This pile of lusciousness just came in the mail today. It's all Cascade 220, which I just scored off the Webs website (www.yarn.com) for $5 a skein (normally $7). Not sure how long it's on sale, but I checked tonight and it's still at that price. Cascade 220 is just a nice, basic, all-purpose, affordable wool yarn that comes in a kazillion colors and felts REALLY well...and it's quite soft too.

The colors may seem somewhat random, but I actually have two projects in mind for all these skeins. When I will find the time to actually sit down and make those projects is another matter entirely.

This is in addition to the 40 balls of yarn I purchased on sale last weekend...enough to make two sweaters. I already have the patterns picked out and downloaded...and so the yarn and patterns sit, waiting patiently until the day I find make the time.

So all in all, I'm about 7 projects deep at this very moment. But hey, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cascade also comes in 'paints.' Here is a color called 'Thunder.' It's gorgeous. My photo doesn't do it justice, so here's the one off the website...

I think I will make another pair of those French Press Felted Slippers with this yarn. It will pretty much match 50% of my wardrobe. The green ones I made match another 40% of my wardrobe and if I get ambitious, I will make a red pair that will match the remaining 10%. But let's be rational.

Currently...

I am testing my baby parka pattern, by knitting another of the 3 sizes offered in the pattern. I bought the cheapest yarn I could get at the local yarn store, which is still a nice 100% New Zealand wool yarn in a vibrant 'Superman' blue. I am just making sure the pattern makes sense in all the sizes represented.