Yarn stash

Yarn Along – Hexagons and In the mail

| Sonia Knits

Welcome to another week of Yarn Along with Ginny and Friends. Go and check out the blog here to see what everyone is knitting and reading this week.

This week I did a bit of work on my crochet blanket project. Many of you wouldn’t know it as a project, as I had only made 6 hexagons in the first year… Oh but don’t worry, this won’t be like my patchwork hexagon quilt or my hexipuffs (what hexipuffs), this time will be different.

DSC_5084_2

I’m making it out of Noro Taiyo, which is a chunky yarn. After a little design consultation from Deb, I’m planning on adding a ‘natural’ or neutral colour to the final round of the hexagons. There are some amazing looking projects on Ravelry that do this, and it gives the ‘full on’ colour of the Noro a bit of a break. My next problem is finding the perfect yarn for it. Can I use stash? Can I spin for it? Decisions, decisions…

It’s also been a good mail week this week. Due to the enabling of one Susan B Anderson, these arrived at my desk on Friday…

DSC_5078

Although the blame can’t lay solely on Susan’s shoulders. I was sufficiently enabled by The Knitmore Girls, and Simply Socks Yarn co. #operationsockdrawer

DSC_5079

Happiness is a self-striping sock yarn x 5.

DSC_5080

DSC_5081

DSC_5077

With fixed flat-rate shipping, I needed to make it worth my while… I have a self-striping sock yarn fetish, didn’t you know?

Up next I’m reading Rachel Herron’s ‘A life in Stitches’. It’s a sure thing, knitting, short-stories about knitting, I know I’m going to enjoy it. Then after that, maybe something serious?

 

Methods for stashing down: UILI

| Sonia Knits

IMG_1264

I’ve been following the Stash and Burn podcast rav forum thread ‘Use it or lose it’ on Ravelry for a little while now. I think the premise for the scheme is to cast on one thing from ‘deep stash’ each month, the yarn then either becomes a project that you’re happy with, or you realise that the yarn has no potential anymore and you move it along.

There is a lot in my stash that I consider as deep-stash. Putting all your yarn up on Ravelry is a wonderful thing. It makes organising so much easier! I’ve identified 8 amounts of wool that I need to move through my yarn collection, one way or another (at least to begin with, there’s more). To force the issue, I’ve created project pages for each of the yarns. I’ve assigned most of the yarn a project for what the yarn was originally intended for or in some cases a new pattern idea.

Today I’ve cast-on my Cleckheaton Angora Supreme, Cathy may recall me buying this. It was because of her high praise of this yarn, that I felt it was necessary to buy the last ever 10 balls of it from Wool Baa a million, billion years ago. I think at the time, I may have had this pattern in mind, I’m not sure. Either way, not long after it’s arrival in my stash I found what I thought was the perfect pattern for it. Then I forgot to knit it. But I didn’t forget, in my head it was sorted.

So I’ve cast on ‘Candy Stripes Kerchief’ by Kat Coyle today, maybe 5 or more years after it’s originally inception. I’ve changed the pattern so that I’m working in a tube rather than flat stocking stitch that curls. I have double the yardage to do this. I loved the design when I first saw it, quite Dr. Seuss like. And stripes are in.

I think this project is a keeper.

IMG_1280

Ode to Patonyle

| Sonia Knits

Patons have put out a great new colour range of Patonyle in solids and self-fair isling, and I’ve been stalking the shops to see who would have it on their shelves first.

The answer is Clegs! I spied a half-opened box in store at lunchtime yesterday, but I behaved like a ‘lady’ and didn’t rummage through it, although it did kill me a little. I had to return to the city today for something else (I know 40 degrees outside), so I displayed some patience. Funnily the store manager (I think) was chatting to me about the new colour range and said they were just put on shelf today, (no kidding), so I had to play along and say, ‘wow really, aren’t they great!’ so as not to appear like the crazy yarn stalker that I am.

I knew when I saw the new colour range on Facebook, I was doomed. The yarn diet or should I say ‘the yarn lifestyle’ had to be put on hold. You see, yarn colours don’t always stick around, nor do yarns. I’ve taken one for the team and purchased these.

IMG_1232_2

Of the achievements of my husbands time at ACS so many moons ago, the one I love most, was that he ‘brought back Patonyle’. He is my hero for all time, I didn’t know how good it was then (but several other knitters did) and lobbied to get it back from discontinuation. I’ve almost finished my Featherweight cardigan in Patonyle and I am ecstatic about how lovely the fabric feels when wearing it. Now Patonyle is in the the bright colours that we all dreamed about. I see 6 pairs of stripy socks, somewhere in my future…