Yarn, Yarn, and More Yarn!

I am cursed with a terrible affliction. This regrettable condition causes me to obsessively buy and store yarn. I feel this constant nagging deep in my soul. It speaks to me and says things like, "One day you may not be able to buy yarn," or "Later in life you'll only be able to afford acrylic." In all seriousness, though, I do like to stock up on yarn. I like to have options. I like being able to root through my tubs to find gems I had long since forgotten. I like knowing that I could retire comfortably just on the stash I have now. (Well, that's almost true. I might need 2 or 3 more tubs for retirement.) And most of all, I like buying sale yarn in bulk.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to organize my stash. I took 6 tubs and labeled them with index cards. I then filled (more like stuffed) the tubs with the appropriate skeins, and I stacked them in my closet neatly. I'm hardly ever neat, so the fact that I took this step is a big deal. I feel better now that everything is organized. I'm able to find things much more easily, and my yarn is no longer within Darby's reach. Here's a picture of my handiwork:


Along the side you can see the set of plastic drawers that Kai bought for me. I'm using them to store everything I can't fit in the tubs. Right now it's kind of bare, but I have a feeling I won't encounter any trouble filling it.

Today I received another shipment of yarn, so I ended up filling the two bottom drawers with my KnitPicks sock yarn. KnitPicks has had Stroll Kettle Dyed sock yarn on sale for a while now, so I bought a bunch of it. I also bought a bunch of regular Stroll sock yarn and some bare sock yarn since they didn't have any "white." I've been buying lots of sock yarn lately. It's my new "thing."


Clockwise from top left: Stroll in "Forest Heather," Stroll in "Ash," Stroll in "Merlot Heather," and Stroll in "Carbon Twist"
Middle: "Bare" sock yarn


Clockwise from top left: Stroll Kettle Dyed in "Jay" (2 balls), Stroll Kettle Dyed in "Spruce," Stroll Kettle Dyed in "Bordeaux," Felici in "Aquarium" (2 balls), Stroll Kettle Dyed in "Wine," and Stroll Kettle Dyed in "Soot"

In addition to all of the yarn, I also bought my first pattern books. Usually I use free patterns. Paying $7 for one pattern seems a little excessive - even to me. Anyway, I bought Knitting Vintage Socks and French Girl Knits.


I knew I'd be safe with Knitting Vintage Socks. My friend, Sara, owns the book, and she told me that it was worthwhile. I took a risk with French Girl Knits, though. I bought both books through Amazon, and both were decently priced. Knitting Vintage Socks was around $14 and French Girl Knits was around $16.

My main gripe is that Amazon does not post pictures of the finished objects that can be made using the patterns in the books. Such pictures would not make anyone less likely to buy the book. In fact, I think the absence of pictures is very detrimental to the sale of pattern books on the internet. I guess it really isn't my problem, but pattern books are so much cheaper on the internet than in a regular bookstore.

Well, I think this post is long enough. I should get back to knitting the baby sock I've been trying to finish for the past few days. It's high time I move on to some Etsy projects!