Christmas is coming - what better excuse to buy yarn? Having several gifts in mind that simply cannot be completed with the current contents of my stash (ahem), I dutifully betook myself to Madison yesterday for replenishment of same.
About an hour's drive away, the Wisconsin Craft Market has a wonderful selection of yarn (as well as artists' paints, pens, paper, stamps, needlework supplies, and other crafty goodies).
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| A glorious wall of Cascade 220 - I'd like one of each, please. |
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| Oh, the socks you could knit! |
I saw yarns made with nearly every fiber imaginable: wool, silk, cotton, linen, alpaca, angora, soy, bamboo, hemp, and corn, as well as humble acrylic - and probably a few more that I don't remember.
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| "Grass" - what a great name for hemp yarn |
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| Corn fiber yarn |
As I meandered down the rainbow aisles in a happy daze, squeezing and sniffing the goods (I love the smell of wool - but is it tacky to sniff yarn in public?) I heard a customer telling the manager how much she appreciated the amount and variety of yarns on display. "It makes a knitter happy," she said. (I very nearly called out "And crocheters too!")
It's just as well the annual income is somewhat limited, or I'd have spent WAY more money than I ought. With what I consider to be admirable self-restraint, I bought only three skeins of yarn - AND already have a specific project in mind for each:
The lilac yarn (superfine merino/acrylic blend) will be a hat for yours truly; the lovely olive wool roving is for a manly gift (which I can't describe, but will probably show up as a free pattern in the next few months), and the ocean-tinted aqua-grey will also be used for a gift.
How do you shop for yarn? Online, in stores, at fairs? Do you buy yarn with specific projects in mind, or just because you love it and can't resist?
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Oooo. Ahhhh.... That store is like having multi-colored sheep hanging on the wall. Actually sheep are pretty dumb. Did you check to see if there were any faces or feet attached to those skeins? I'm just sayin' ... The Goatmother does a little of each. Sometimes she gets yarn with a project in mind and sometimes just because she can't resist. :)
ReplyDeleteDidn't see any faces or feet ... OR goat yarn, come to think of it. What's up with that? :)
DeleteOooh my.. a little bit of heaven indeed! I always buy my yarn in stores, unless I absolutely have to have something that I cannot find there. Most of the time I buy with a project in mind, but sometimes I buy because I fall in love with a color and have to have it!Can't wait to see what you create next :)
ReplyDeleteI've only bought yarn online once - I much prefer to feel before I buy! :)
DeleteWhen I this first photo to your post on my reading list I nearly dropped the laptop trying to get to the post as soon as possible. Ooooooooooo....this is heaven! One of each, yes, please!
ReplyDeleteI dream of owning a yarn/coffee/tea shop one day...and I will cater to crocheters!
If ever you open that shop, I'll come and visit! :)
DeleteOh my goodness, all those colors, all those yarns. How did you ever decide just 3????? I usually buy yarn at Hobby Lobby. There's one here in town and the closest yarn shop is 45 minutes away but doesn't have a big selection. And then there's online which I am must not discovering. I am first and foremost addicted to counted cross stitch with crochet running a close second. I always buy based on a project.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely colors. Can't wait to see the hat.
Hugs,
Sharon
You should have seen the other 6 aisles of yarn....
Delete:)
Hello Sue,
ReplyDeleteDON'T get me started on my near danger level yarn addiction! And I've only been knitting for three years. I love fondling wool and I love instore purchases BUT most of my yarn buying happens online. I have an irrational fondness for Loop Knitting in London... amongst other retail online outlets.
I am looking forward to seeing your projects, Sue. I'm glad you had such a good time today :-)
Thanks, Stephanie! Online buying is great if you're already familiar with the yarn, I think. The yarn you choose is always lovely. :)
DeleteOh, I'm always sniffing wool! I don't know if it's tacky or not though - oh no, a yarn faux pas :-D.
ReplyDeleteI mostly buy online which isn't the same experience but when I can make the effort I do love to go to the west end of Glasgow to the Yarn Cake (wool shop/cafe) which is tiny but perfect.
'Grass' - *snort* Hadn't occurred to me!
Oh good - so glad I'm not the only sniffer! :)
Delete(The grass tie-in only hit me after the fact as well.)
I always have to rub the yarn against my cheek to check that its not too scratchy and inevitably I have a good sniff, it just makes me happy and satisfies another of my senses! I would love to have been there with you, all those colours, my goodness,well done for being focussed :o) Sometimes I just buy yarn for yarn having and stashing sake, I am trying to be more disciplined and have a purpose in mind these days though as cash flow needs to be kept an eye on. Look forward to seeing your lovely makes Mrs. M xox Penelope
ReplyDeleteI'm always afraid that if I buy for the stash only, then I won't have enough of the yarn when a project comes up. Mild paranoia, I think - but it helps me fight the temptation to pile up skeins right and left. :)
DeleteWow!! Look at all that Cascade 220! My little local shop has a wall of about 16 colors. I try to support this shop, but it is small and the supply limited. The trouble too, is that it is small and quiet and I feel self conscious there so I don't dawdle nearly as long as I would like. I shop with a project in mind, but always have several projects in my mental line up--like books stacked around I really will get to eventually.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I know just what you mean - I feel the same in small yarn shops. And then I feel bad if I don't buy something. Very awkward! :)
DeleteI always buy yarn from the store...never online. I think I would have spent endless hours in that store. Love how they have to colors all displayed hanging....our are kept in skims laying sideways. Have fun with your new yarn and can't wait to see what you come up with! Shari
ReplyDeleteThere were plenty of skeins on shelves as well - so lots of temptation all around! :)
DeleteI had to do a double take and rub my eyes when I first saw that picture of the wall of yarn. I thought that hallucinating! That is just a thing of dreams for me. There is nothing like that here and to get any decent yarn, i have to go online. Unfortunately the downside of this is that I cant be sure that the colour that I expect will be the colour that arrives. There is nearly always a difference and not always good!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean - the only time I bought yarn online it was a leap of faith. The yarn itself was very nice, but the colour was much paler than it had looked on screen.
DeleteThis store is an hour away, but worth the trip! :)
What a gorgeous array of colourful yarns! What temptation!
ReplyDeleteI cannot find such wonderful yarn shops where I live, so I have to order on line! My storage space is limited at home, so after starting a collection of basic colours, now I order just the colours I need for specific projects.
I think that I would have saved up for a whole year just to go to Wisconsin Craft Market and to replenish my stocks and maybe a little more besides! It's true that I have storage boxes under my bed!
Have a happy Sunday!
I could easily have spent a thousand dollars there.... :)
DeleteSo wonderful! You'd definitely find me here all the time. :-) Did Mr. M enjoy the chocolate?
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day! Mine is going to be foggy and grey so I'm off to cast on another sweater: pink, purple, off-white and (I can't remeber what I bought and must check the bag immediately). Regula
Yes, thank you - he enjoyed it very much. And I enjoyed it more! :)
DeleteCan't wait to see your next sweater. You must have a huge stash!
Your post made me smile :)I did yarn shopping last weekend and bought 7 new colors...just because I liked them. simple, hehe. I buy yarn from local yarn shop, may be you saw one of my posts where I showed yarn stalls :)There is no variety of fiber for yarn in India, but I am quiet happy with whatever is available. I also have some Christmas projects in mind:)
ReplyDeleteHave a nice Sunday! Anna
Sometimes it's fun to buy yarn just for the colour. I'm looking forward to seeing your projects! :)
DeleteWe certainly don't have that many varieties. I never buy for a certain project. Even if that is sort of my intention when I hit our one and only actual craft store, I always, always wind up with more, more, more. :) Best wishes, Tammy
ReplyDeleteThe best-laid plans gang oft agley when a crocheter walks into a yarn store.... :)
DeleteI think I would love to visit that store. And not only do I smell yarn in public I also touch my face with it to see how soft it is. I do not care if people stare, I am a yarn-a-holic and I freely admit it.
ReplyDeleteYou showed great restraint.
Meredith
Yes, I touch my face to it also - and sometimes the back of my neck. Yarn-a-holics of the world, unite! :)
DeleteWow, a whole wall of colour, we are lucky to have a yarn shop in a town nearby, but it isn't like that, they have a limited stock, but I always find more or less what I need, nothing too expensiv either, my time perusing is normally down to seeing what I want within a minute and paying for and getting out of the shop within the next minute nearly always having at least one boy in tow!
ReplyDeleteWell done for sticking to your guns, love what you chose!
Having a little one would be a great curb on the impulse to linger! There were many more walls like this one in that lovely store. It was wonderful. :)
DeleteGosh, you were restrained! All those colours!!
ReplyDeleteNow you know I'm on a mission to encourage SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) so in my case a lot of my purchases are of the can't resist variety. And I have the excuse of maintaining the Big List Of Yarn Shops on the blog .. I have to buy stuff for review purposes ;) Which actually makes me sound more extravagant than I am but I still have a fair bit of yarn!
I'm sure we both dream of being commissioned by a yarn company (or two) to develop patterns - or something that would involve shipments of free yarn coming to our doors. Perhaps a review service? :)
DeleteOh my dear, you should have seen me in England, I was just a very sad case, wanting to buy yarn and knowing that there was no room to take it home with me! I couldn't resist one bright pink yarn called Stylecraft and have used it for babies and little girl crochet presents.
ReplyDeleteYarn is much more expensive now than in the past, which is very bad news for me.
I have successfully avoided wool shops in England - not by choice but more because of time constraints. I did visit one in London (I Knit, near Waterloo) but was rather too jet-lagged that day to choose anything.
Delete:)
Oh what a beautiful array of yarn. I can't believe you only bought 3! I always buy in shops. Because I work in a small shop I try to shop local and at the yarn shop when possible. I used to buy just cause I liked a yarn, but now I don't unless I have a project. I have ended up with not enough of the just because yarn once I find a project and then the yarn is not available. :( So sad. Also with the cost of yarn (and fabric) it needs to have a purpose.
ReplyDeleteAmen to all of that, Beth! I can't afford to buy yarn without a purpose - so I try very hard to control myself. But it's pretty difficult sometimes. :)
DeleteOh, my goodness, how did I ever miss this eye candy?!? I guess you knew by the number of comments you'd hit pay dirt with that gorgeous photo. What I would do for a shop close enough and with that kind of variety!!! Why, I'd never get a lick of work done!!!
ReplyDeleteI buy online more than I should because I don't have a shop like that I can go to that I know of and because the shops we do have don't have hours a working girl like me can enjoy... Boohoo!
This one is an hour away, so I don't get there very often - probably just as well! And it's WONDERFUL. :)
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