Are you a yarn snob?

I don't really like to use that term, Yarn Snob, because it just sounds bad. I'm not trying to alienate anyone either. But if you detest acrylic then you will want to click out of this post now. Right now. And I don't want that, I'd hate to see you go. Well, maybe just hang around for a minute to find out why?

My husband's aunt used to knit and crochet like the wind. She would make samples for the LYS. We still use a beautiful blanket she made for Hubster years ago. In fact, she made dozens of the cutest baby booties as the shower favor for my baby shower. For some reason (grin) she has always loved me. Hugs the daylights out of me and packs a lipsticked kiss on me every time I see her. I must be like she daughter she never had or something. Aunt Rita has been cleaning out her house lately. Her husband died this past summer, and now her son and daughter-in-law are going to be moving in with her. She has also had problems with her hands and isn't able to knit or crochet anymore. (Pausing for a moment of silence) She has been gifting me with all of her stash. Yup. Loads. And loads more on top of that! There is no way one human being could possible knit up this much yarn if all they did was knit constantly!

There have been some interesting finds; quite a bit of Swa Laine, which looks like a mini i-cord instead of plied yarn strands. And some Lite-Lopi. But the majority of it is Acrylic. Lots of Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft. I can hear the mouse clicks now. Come back soon, will you please?

So in honor of Aunt Rita and her stash I will be holding yarn giveaways on a regular basis in the hopes of reclaiming our guest room (my craft room) before anyone visits and needs to use it! Details yet to be determined, but stay tuned!

What are your resolutions?

Ok Friends we're a month into 2010, long enough to have given up on the resolutions that wouldn't work and make the ones you are really going to try to keep. Let's keep the lists short since having too many goals that don't get met can only lead to disappointment. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?

1. Lose 10 pounds.
Last year I wanted to lose 10 pounds. At my physical last month I discovered I had actually gained 10 lbs since the previous visit the year earlier. Ugh. Well, the appointment was the Monday following Thanksgiving, so not all of those 10 lbs are permanent! Right? This year I am not saying that I will lose 20 lbs because let's face it, that will never happen. But I would like to lose those 10 lbs!

2. Do not let my kids' fighting drive me crazy.
They are boys. They interact like boys. They are rough and fight with each other. And I am ok with that. Repeat, I am ok with that. (OK, I'm going to need a lot of meditational breathing to get through this one).

3. No new yarn purchases unless specifically intended for a project that will begin imminently!
I think we all make these kind of resolutions at one point or another. But I have a lot of one and two skeins of wool that I will be working on using up. Purse designs are churning up above. One exception from this resolution will be recycling yarn from sweaters. I was warned that I would become addicted. While not (yet) addicted, recycling has benefits! It is lots of fun, I can do it with the kidsters in the room (they like to help!), and I seem to find very nice stuff at amazing prices lately! I wonder if I will make a new "business" out of it (smirk).

More yarn projects!

I recently inherited a huge box of yarn from my terrific neighbor. Since retiring she hasn't had any time for knitting (isn't that funny?) and decided to donate it to me! Most of it was Lopi which I am looking forward to felting into lots of fun things (slippers, anyone?). But there was also quite a bit of this cotton. I thought it was interesting because I am churning through the red cotton I bought on sale this summer and I am looking now for an apple green color. I know, this isn't quite apple green. Or pine green. Or green at all.
It's teal, and quite bright. But I am going to play around with it and some yellow and see if I can get it closer to some kind of green color. I made up my homemade swift (I love Ravelry!) and got one of the skeins all ready. I have the dye. Now I just need to find a pot at a yard sale or something. I don't have any extras that we don't use!

Stash Management

Got some new yarn yesterday. In total, I spent $20. I have enough for three sweaters! Not that I'll make them into sweaters...that would take me a long, long time.

I'm planning a summer tank with this. Yeah, I know it might be next summer. I can hear you snickering over there.
No plan for this yet but it's good basic black kidster yarn for the stash. And at $0.50 each I couldn't let it sit on the shelf.
And this is for my kitchen. Perfect match (it's really red, not pink as it appears in the pictures). My Ravelry friends might have noticed that I've spent some time faving a bunch of dishcloth patterns. Now if I can only get off Ravelry and start knitting!

Yarn Score

I was looking around in a discount store today for some summer things for the kidsters and I came across this: and this:

Yes, of course I bought them! After searching Ravelry, I am completely satisfied with the price I paid. I am also glad that I didn't buy more of the green. Even though it speaks to me, in volumes!! And I thought about it, since there was certainly sweater quantity available. I love everything about the colors in the hank, but when I searched projects I was not thrilled about how the colors looked when actually knit. But I'm not worried about that since I plan on felting it anyway, which should look pretty good! So for now I'm going to enjoy (read: fondle) my new yarn and enjoy (read: drool over) the beautiful colors just they way they are!