Yarn Shopping and Pure Bliss, But Not Together

So, I went yarn shopping yesterday.  I am on a yarn diet until further notice, but this purchase was planned prior to committing to "No More!"  A LYS was having a SALE.  And not just on old, odd-ball leftovers, but on EVERYTHING.  Perfect opportunity to get patterns and supplies for the Baby Gundy knit, so off I went on my way to work.

The shop is very nice, although somewhat sterile for a yarn shop.  It is well-stocked in the yarns she carries, but I often wish there were greater variety available.  I had decided to knit a sweater for the baby, but needed a pattern.  Can you believe I have never made a baby item before?  Anyway, I settled on a cardigan in the Debbie Bliss "Baby Knits for Beginners" book.  It will need a matching hat and a little embellishment to dress it up, but I liked the shape.  It kills me to spend all that $$ on a book for one pattern, but I am under a little time pressure here and it gets the job done.  So far so good.

Here is where I start to lose my enthusiasm.  The owner is just not creative.  I was interested in seeing what other yarns (instead of the baby cashmerino called for) might be appropriate.  Her response was "Why on earth wouldn't you want to use the yarn called for?"  Well, maybe because I like to explore my options.  Maybe because knitting is all about making a unique garment.  Maybe because I want shocking freakin' pink and not a prissy baby color.  I don't know.  Maybe I want to CHOOSE.  I did end up choosing a cute green and peach combo in the baby cashmerino, but I feel like I sold out.  See?  Just disregard that little skein of Anne.  I have no idea how that ended up in my bag. 

So what I figured out yesterday is that when I have MY yarn shop, all knitting levels of creativity will be encouraged, whether you want to knit an item exactly as called for in the pattern, or take a little (or a lot!) of creative license.

I have a little problem with Anne yarn.  I really really really love it, and I had never seen this colorway before.  YUM.  I already have two half-pi shawls in two beautiful and different colorways, so I do not know what this will become.  Certainly not socks, because it just begs to be seen and not stuffed into stinky shoes.  So somehow I bought that, too, even though I swore I would only buy the planned project supplies.

Anyway, I am very happy with how this is knitting up.  Beautiful stitch definition, very soft yarn and EASY pattern. 

I also started a pair of "Jaywalking" socks over the weekend.  This is a great pattern - no wonder everyone is knitting a pair.  I won the yarn ages ago in Margene's "Give A Little" fund raising drive.  Probably not the best selection for this particular pattern, but I do like the results and these babies are for my own feet.

This is "potato chip" knitting at its best.  You keep doing just one more row to see how the zig zag thing is coordinating with the color change.  Fun.

And finally, the day concluded with finding the last bit of vanilla Haagen Dazs left from Christmas hidden in the way-back of the freezer.  Clearly the kid's sugar radar must be broken, because this stuff is usually inhaled.  It was probably only about ten bites worth, but they were worth it.  I shared the last molecules of it with Ralph:

What you can't see is his tail wagging with each lick.  Pure bliss.

Comments

[claudia]

That Opal colorway is one of my favorites. Looks great!