Shopping spree in detail

So no, the novelty of being able to post photo entries from my iPhone has not worn off yet, why do you ask? But enough tomfoolery, time for a "real" entry!

And yeah, there may have been the occurence of a slight shopping spree yesterday.

Amanda recently reminded me of how, early on, I said that I only buy yarn for specific projects that I'm going to knit soon. Even as I wrote that, I had a feeling that would change, and that it was only because I was a new knitter.

Well guess what? I was right! On a recent Stash and Burn episode, Jenny talked about how buying yarns she loves and then figuring out what to knit works better for her than buying yarn for a particular project. I don't think I'm at that point yet, but I did enjoying browsing at The Point and picking out all the prettiest stuff.

And can I just say that there's nothing like actually physical browsing (rather than online)? Although I did end up consulting Ravelry while I was there. As we all know, web browsing is a little slow on the Edge network, but luckily, the sales person took pity on me and pointed out that they have wifi there and gave me the password... that was a big help!

I did have something of a project in mind. My mother-in-law is more of a crocheter, but she also knits, and recently commented to my husband that she'd like to try knitting something different. I asked her what she meant exactly, and she said she has really only done plain knit and purl scarves, and she wouldn't mind even just trying the ruffle scarf I knit.

She just retired and the family is having a party for her this weekend, so I didn't have time to order anything online. So shopping I went, and I'm still not sure exactly which yarn to give her. I was thinking of swatching up a few of them to see how they work as a ruffle, as I want to make sure this goes smoothly for her.

It wasn't exactly intentional, but I think everything I bought looks great as a collection too! One thing I like about The Point is that they have a wide variety of yarns. They don't necessarily have the depth of colorways that Purl does, and their collection is less cohesive, but it's fun. I'm glad I have access to both stores.

So, here's the haul:

Delicious, no?

This is Knit One Crochet Too Tartelette in spring meadow 537 (which seems have been discontinued):

I am a sucker for pink and green and, aside from being really pretty, this was the ribbon yarn I liked best that most closely resembled the Noro Gisha I used.

This is Lorna's Laces Grace in Sand Ridge 112:

Love love love the colors (who couldn't resist a colorway called Sand Ridge?) and I'm partial to boucle. I thnk this would look great as a ruffle scarf too.

This is Noro Kureyon in colorway 196:

I love Noro, although this may be a little scratchy. Handknit Holidays has a more ruffly, tighter guage scarf so I was kind of thinking of possibly going that route, plus I had noticed and loved this colorway before. I think I'll have to swatch it and see. If not, there's always Lizard Ridge. As I mentioned a while back, I love the way the squares look pre-blocking when they are three dimensional so I may just try knitting one square for fun, and it may or may not eventually become an afghan.

This is Noro Cash Iroha in colorway 110:

These photos do not do this yarn justice at all, as it is just beautiful and has a kind of luminescence to it that I was very drawn to. The yarn is 40% silk, 30% wool, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon, so it is very soft. I looked at this and all I could think of was Fetching like these and also these. They would go very nicely with the lavendar Kushu Kushu scarf for my sister, but I'm already worried about getting everything I want to get done before my trip at the end of the month. We'll see how it goes. This would make a lovely ribbon scarf too or really a lovely anything (I love purple) although I would have to buy more.

Oooh, maybe I'll do the fingerless mitts from Last Minute Knitted Gifts instead for a change... quite a few people on Ravelry used Cash Iroha for those (can't wait until Ravelry goes public and I can just link there!)

Finally, Colinette Zanziba in Autumn Leaves 110:

Love love love! This yarn is so beautiful. Unfortunately, they only had one skein in this colorway left. I think I may have to order more (much cheaper here but not in that colorway). This could make a beautiful anything.

The best part was when I showed my husband everything I bought and asked him which he thought his mother would like best. He gave me the "ok I will humor you" look... and picked this one! Not only is it my favorite too, but it was also more than twice as expensive as any of the others! (It's not that expensive if you live in the UK.) My husband is not the most aethetically inclined person alive. He's an engineer. He is supportive of my knitting in that "what you are into is totally foreign to me but I like that you enjoy it" kind of way but he does have good taste! (He did also recently help me untangle a skein of yarn for about an hour so he is a good sport all around.)

I also saw a beautiful throw at The Point and I think it might be the Colinette Love It! Throw shown beautifully here and here.

Comments

[miko]

nice shopping spree! i think for someone just coming back into knitting, any of the smoother yarns would work great, but the Grace may be a little more challenging due to the texture of the yarn hiding stitch definition.

just wanted to tell you, i was really inspired by your Habu post so I went there last weekend and picked up a Kushu Kushu scarf kit. Can't wait to see how it knits up! :-)

[Laurie]

Oh my gosh! You shopped so much that "I" don't even want to shop for yarn anymore. LOL!

[adrienne]

WOW! Great stuff!!!!