Yarn Binge

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde

Alright maybe not a binge to put other crafters to shame, but for me, yesterday was a right feast of yarn. First, and most importantly, a blatant friend reference:

Buy from Brooke! I bought two hanks of sock yarn from her yesterday (both of which will probably- PROBABLY I say- go to my Sockret Pal) and they are a) gorgeous and b) came with a shockingly good discount (of course this could be because I'm such a cool person- what?- why are you laughing?- FINE, probably because Brooke is such a cool person.) Right now she mainly has individual skeins so I can't post shots of my particular beauties as they've come off the shop site, but check her out. Anyone looking to buy Christmas gifts (cough,cough,momsuzhubba) for me (see: cool person) this is a GREAT place to go. Also, check out her blog and the amazing market she'll be attending. Whoo-hoo Brooke! If she were a candidate in some political race I'd give her my full endorsement.

Also, got to visit my fantastic friend Betsy in Pinehurst yesterday and picked up some divine lovelies from Bella Filati in Southern Pines. They aren't kidding on the site, this is a place of luxury yarns. Not a store I could shop everyday (and still afford a house) but so, so worth the occasional trip. And gorgeous just to walk around, see the displays, breathe the rarefied air of Debbie Bliss Cashmere and hand-dyed yarns from Uruguay... The Divine Miss Bets gave me a gift certificate for my birthday which made the shopping even more heavenly- though of course I spent above and beyond. Why do I do that? I swear, if someone gave me a gift certificate for $1,000,000 I'd manage to spend $100,000,020.98 every time. It's my nature. (Also, have to mention how hilarious Betsy was, randomly picking up yarns and saying "Oooo, they're so soft!" or grabbing the sleeves of finished garments on display, saying "Ooo, this would look so great on me!" and lifting her eyebrows in my direction.)





The sock yarn is Liisu Yarns, 75% Superwash, 25% Mohair, color Tequila Sunrise and will one day, when I set my elf hat aside and leave the workshop, be a pair of socks for moi.

The orange balls of heavenly loveliness- ahem- are from Laines du Nord, a yarn seller I've heard of but I don't think I'd seen before (until someone comes up to me and says "you know they sell that at the store you work right at, right? RIGHT?!"). These are 80% Mohair, 20% Polyamid. The smaller, darker divine creature is another sock yarn by Liisu in the color Espresso Bean. Sigh.

I cannot yet tell you what these yarns will make (see: elf hat), but I can tell you this is the most excited I've ever been about one project. Really. For an instant buzz, I look at the patern, yarn held in both hands and am instantly smiling. Though we are on a time frame here (Christmas is only six weeks away!), I won't let myself cast-on until I'm in the perfect environment, pristine, silent, filled with spiritual awe. However, I don't think the Dali Lama will want me spending a few weeks at his crib, so instead I plan to knit only here, at our untidy, noisy, lacking of all awe except sports-oriented fervor home. I'll give updates on this project (Code: Orange, we shall call it), as I think the knitting will be highly interesting (re: challenging, but in a good way) and I want to keep my small, but dedicated and highly international readership informed.

Anyway, I'm off to pile all my yarn on the table and stare at it.