Yarn Mood
Happy Wednesday!
Happy yarn mail day happened last week and my stash got just a little bit bigger.
Several months ago I took part in one of Andi's KAL/CALs in My Sister's Knitter group and to my huge surprise I won a yarn shop gift certificate! If you are still not a part of this amazing group, you should join immediately!! This is a super friendly place where everybody is very supportive, different theme KAL/CALs are being hosted all the time and where you always have an opportunity to win great gifts from the sponsors. What not to love?
My win and a huge sale at WEBS (yarn.com) were a happy coincidence - I got absolutely amazing Peruvian superfine alpaca/wool blend for a very reasonable price. Stockbridge is being discontinued right now, which is such a pity. The yarn has great reviews, there are thousands of projects with it on Ravelry and it has a great color selection. If you hurry up, you can still snatch some skeins at a very yummy price here - Stockbridge Yarn. Personally I love the way it knits up. The fabric created is light, soft and drapey. It will be amazing for casual cozy sweaters! It was a big challenge to choose a color, I believe there are over 20 shades available, I ended up choosing Light Gray - my neutrals obsession continues. :) I especially enjoy the slight color variations which gives depth to the fabric.
This is the second time I order from WEBS and I love everything about it except the delivery time. I placed my order in April and got the yarn only last week. But I must say that the price for international delivery is very reasonable, so I won't complain.
When I get new yarn, I very rarely start a project with it immediately. It has to stay in my stash for awhile, before I get used to it, make dozens of swatches and finally decide what to make with it. This weekend I was organizing my craft space and realized that my crochet hooks are covered in dust. After my crochet cardigan fail, I haven't crocheted much, except swathes for my dress experiment. Maybe my abandonment of crochet can be explained by the fact that I never get to know yarn through crochet swatches, only knit ones. I have to start making two swatches - one knit, one crochet - this way the ideas for my crochet hook will start flowing.
A couple of weeks ago I was one of the guests on Our Maker Life blog where I, with other participants, had to answer the question about creative process essentials. You can read my full answer here - What three things are essential to your creative process? As I mentioned there, my process of creating a pattern is very different from just casual just-for-fun knitting/crochet experiments. Knitting for pattern requires so much concentration and this is especially true with my Moeke Cardigan. As much as I enjoy swatch process, I am happy it is finally over for this project, because it took forever!! Each knitwear piece is like a mosaic to me, consisting of many many pieces - the fit, the color, the stitch patterns, the construction, the yarn. There are so many ingredients that gets overwhelming. The important thing is to mix these ingredients in a harmonious way, because if just one of them is off, the whole mosaic falls apart. I am happy to say that I finally got my recipe and now the hardest thing is to stop myself and take meticulous notes and not rush through the project.
I hope you are having a great week!!
P.S. It's been awhile since I've shared my current read. Right now I am enjoying "Einstein. His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson. A fascinating very well-written biography! See you at Yarn Along!
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