All posts filed under: yarn

Ravelry Mini Yarn Haul, and some pandemic-era reflection

What I bought I placed an order in late March (or whenever Knit Picks orders re-opened after Shelter-in-Place orders took effect). Reeling from the news and wanting retail therapy, and with projects all queued up and assigned on Ravelry, I was eager to receive this new little bundle of yarn. I’m especially excited to give the Upcycle yarns a try. This line of yarns is made by spinning plushy skeins with leftover wool from their mills to reduce waste. Next to my enthusiasm about these new projects on the horizon, I felt some remorse. I’d say a call to reflect on what buying for inessential (though no less enriching) projects really means during this unique and devastating time. I am not an island Essential workers are subjected to dangerous situations every day, to create and deliver loads of items both critical and nonessential. This helps keep this interdependent machine we call society running, especially for disabled or dependent folks who need to have things delivered to their home to safely meet their needs. One can …

yarn swift

I finally purchased a yarn swift. Nick’s pretty happy to know that he won’t be asked to sit through holding a hank for me anymore—not that he complained much about it (or has been asked that often to do it either). I feel a little bit more like a legit knitter now. I’ll try not to think about how a dark wood variety of this swift was made available on Knitpicks just days after I received this order. Of course the better looking one would show up after I commit to a product!

wip: seahawk nillas, garter squish blanket

Here’s what I find are hands-down needs for me as a knitter, at least for right now anyway. I absolutely need a pair of socks in progress at any given time. I need a mindless scrap-eating blanket knit going on in the background. These are two such WIPs I’ve got going on to preserve the natural and right order of life in this apartment: This would be a pair of plain stockinette socks made from my first-ever purchased skein of Manos Del Uruguay yarn that I bought a year ago in my new favorite LYS, The Nifty Knitter. It’s in Issaquah, WA which is decidedly not local for my Los Angeles-based self but the pleasant, inclusive spirit of that shop is enough for me to hold off on certain purchases until I make the flight/drive up there. I LOVE the place. The hank of Alegria used was full of surprises. I initially bought it as sort of a joke. In Seattle, I show myself up as an Angeleno in a lot of ways, like calling …

wip: nakniswemo2016, slide + knitpicks stash acquisition!

Happy November! I recently made a big yarn purchase from Knitpicks for this special winter month, and now that they’ve arrived, I can finally show you. But first, a sock WIP update– Monkey Socks sometime soon. As for the Zen Garden yarn–it’s easily the softest sock yarn I’ve had the privilege of working with to date, but I think the colorway shifts too aggressively for the purpose of this design. I’ll likely keep knitting it, but another go at this project with a softly solid MadelineTosh might be in order in the future. Ease , a gorgeous pattern that has been sitting in my queue for a long time. I chose Knitpicks’ Wool of the Andes Superwash in Mineral Heather, which looks even better in person. This lovely but kinda garish set of Brava Sport is another new addition. I bit the bait hard and shelled out the ~whopping (not) $25 for a Rainbow Hue Shift kit from Knitpicks. This is gonna be my first afghan project (well, one that isn’t a sausage project anyway). …

places : toronto, ontario

With just my iPhone in tow (tried to travel light), I spent a rushed three days exploring Toronto on foot. Naturally I had to ask Yelp where the nearest LYS’s were. Yarns Untangled . This small shop is gorgeously lit and incredibly well curated, I wanted to bring every one of their skeins home. I took this yarn lust as an opportunity to manage my stash. I took a good look at the entries in my Ravelry stash section, and carefully assigned the relevant ones to projects on my queue. Once that was done, I had the conscience-clearing parameters needed to make my special souvenir yarn purchase — it’s gonna have to be a skein of super soft fingering wool for the Slide socks by Cookie A. My next stop was Romni Wools , which was an overwhelming experience. The first floor was absolutely brimming with yarn of all weights and colors! I chose a Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the Sequoia colorway, entirely for sentimental reasons–for Nick and my first year, we visited the …