I was thinking of this in terms of those of us who are knitting. What have we been doing to continue knitting, which brings us so much pleasure, not to mention relief from stress in a way we can't manage to find any other way? How do we buy the quality yarn to make our projects extra special, last for generations in some cases, or just not fall apart after spending weeks and even months working on intricate patterns that can drive us blind and batty while also giving us such a sense of pride and accomplishment? Is it worth spending $20 to $40 for a skein of yarn that would cost us $5 in the acrylic version? And with the holidays speeding toward us, and many of us making knit or crochet gifts for those we love the most, it's become a question I've been giving an exorbitant amount of time pondering.
When I knit baby items for the local hospital, I've been told that they must be done in acrylic yarn to make it easier for the new parents who receive these sweaters, hats, booties,blankets, etc. That may well be so, but I'm always thinking that I'm making something that should be very special for the occasion of a new birth, something that can be passed down to other children and perhaps even their children. It should be made well and made with love. Still, I have some issues making beautiful clothing from acrylic yarn, even if it is cost effective and easy to launder. An entire sweater and hat can be made for about $5 worth of acrylic yarn...but my time added to that makes it priceless. So, I've come to terms with acrylic yarn ( and there are some very lovely acrylics out there) for certain projects. I just don't want a stash of acrylics. That's just me.
When I make things for my children I always look for the best yarn I can work with for the project. I want whatever I make to feel wonderful, so wonderful that they want to wear it all the time because they love the feel of it. There's nothing quite as satisfying as having a 20 year old son letting you know how much he loves the socks you made for him, and how they feel better than any store bought socks. It really makes my day. I could cry from joy. The same thing goes when my soon to be 24 year old daughter takes her shoes off to show anyone who'll listen that her mom made these socks, these are mom socks. People look at them, feel them, are in awe that such a creation could occur, and let her know how lucky she is to have such terrific socks. I cry from laughter (and joy) from those moments.
I have lists of things I want to make for my children and certain people in my family. I've given up on keeping up with a time line since I've learned I don't work well when I feel pressured to churn out finished products, it just creates stress when I'm trying to reduce it. But I have patterns marked with names, books with markers on certain pages labeled with the names of the people I want to make them for. Nothing on these lists have anything to do with acrylic yarn...just saying.
Most knitters have a stash, yarn they just had to have for a thousand personal reasons, but have yet to use. I learned many years ago that just storing them wasn't a good thing for me. I'd go to my stash and find 18 skeins of Noro and have absolutely no idea why I had so many skeins or what I had in mind to make with them when I bought them. But **I'll get back to this stash stuff in a bit**those of you who know, know that that's a major investment in yarn. I figured that if I bought so many skeins in the same dye lot, there was a plan in my head when I found them and took them home. It took me weeks of going through books and magazines hoping to find the pattern that went with the yarn, and when I finally found it, and had my Aha! moment, it wasn't just for finding the pattern that went with the yarn, it was also my Gestalt moment for how to deal with future stashes and yarn purposes. The Noro was for a stunning Entrelac long shawl for my daughter, and it was breathtaking when she first put it on. I felt as if I'd created something spectacular, mind blowing, with the potential of becoming an heirloom that one day, if she should have one, her daughter would wear. That's a lot to be thinking about a shawl you made, but there it is, that's part of what I felt. Now I've been writing this and wondering...would I have had the same reaction if I'd made that shawl from a very good acrylic yarn instead of the Noro? I'm ashamed to admit that I wouldn't. It might have been a lovely shawl, but the textures, colors,and fibers that make up a Noro yarn would have been missing, and sorely missed from the beauty and drape of the finished shawl.
I haven't purchased any more Noro of any kind (I'd really like to try their sock yarn), but I do have enough of their Silk Garden to make another shawl. I originally thought it would be for me, but I just don't know. I say this because I have yet to make something, anything, even a pair of socks, for me. I love making things for those I love, and am finding I'm very picky about who I knit for,but somehow, things for me never get on the list. I've got to give this some thought. I'd like a pair of socks at the very least.
So, back to that stash... I've learned a lot about how to keep my stash of beautiful yarns from becoming just a bunch of yarn I can't remember why I bought. I now make a copy of the pattern I want to make out of the yarn with the yarn when I pack it away. It seems to make me feel better about having a stash to begin with, and much better about having a stash of really good yarns. Working this way has also kept me from buying yarn just because it's beautiful, which would have me living in a tiny space in a corner of a house filled with luscious yarns. I know this with certainty because lately I've fallen off the stash wagon so to speak. Yup, I've been figuring that even one skein of a totally fabulous yarn can be made into something wonderful like a hat or small shawl or scarf, socks or something. And this is certainly not the time in our economy where any knitter should fall off the stash wagon.
I blame the enablers. Yes, I've said it and I'm sticking to it. I'm just so not ready to blame myself for loving some of these yarns that much. It has to be the fault of the enablers out there who make such beautiful yarns, that feel like heaven, and smell wonderful, and are squooshy (definitely a yarn term) and soft and have unbelievably blended, saturated colors from meticulous hand dyeing. It certainly couldn't be me *sigh*.
There are some yarns out there that even in this economy are so hard to get because of their amazing properties that it's like discovering a gold mine in your backyard when you get a skein or two or three. Yarns like Wollmeise from Germany that a lovely woman named Claudia dyes by herself and sells in a marketplace, on line, and very recently in a new brick and mortar shop. I'm not lying when I tell you I want to go to Germany just to go to the shop and buy as much of her yarn as I can get my hands on in every colorway I fall in love with. I'd be happy just touching all the different skeins and breathing in the aroma of her yarns while sitting in a chair knitting. For now I'm just one of hundreds of people from all over the world who "stalk" her site for the chance to hit an update once or twice a week just in case one of the colors I love will be available and won't jump out of my cart before I can buy it. Yes, that happens all the time and it's a nightmare for anyone who has had it happen to them. This addiction, and that's what it feels like, has you on a high from the moment the site goes gray and the In Stock page goes up with a list of available yarn, knowing that it will all be gone in about two minutes-TRUE- to when you purchase your yarn, to the wait for the delivery you have to sign for to receive, right through to the moment when you open the package to find a bag with knitting terms written in English and German, open the bag and find the little package of mini Gummi Bears Claudia & company puts in every order, an invoice written in German with the amount in Euros, and then........you touch the yarn......and you find that you've been holding your breath as you let out a long sigh of happiness. That's some enabler, I've got to tell you. My Wollmeise is in a special container apart from all my other yarns, and there are no patterns stored with any of that yarn. It's just a lovely box of Wollmeise, and I'm very happy looking at it.
The Sanguine Gryphon is another enabler. Her Bugga! yarn (just to name one) is so popular she has decided to pull many of her colors and post just a few of them at a time so her server doesn't crash every time she puts up new stock. Definitely a sign of some really good yarn. Definitely an enabler. She very kindly puts a list on her blog to let us know what colors and types of yarns are going to be put up on what day and time. The thinking is that if it's not what you're looking for you won't have to visit and maybe buy...but I'm not sure if that really works. I love knowing what's going up and when since I have a wish list of yarns I want. I've even dragged my daughter into this by having her look at the list of what will be going up to see if there's anything there that she would want something made from. See, I'm really trying to be careful in this economy. I'm trying not to get everything I love, I'm checking in with my personal enabler, the one I make the most things for, to see if there's anything I really need. If you believe that I have a bridge to sell you. Because of knowing what is going up I've been able to get more skeins than I care to mention of yarns on my wish list that I probably wouldn't have gotten if it weren't for that enabling blog. I'd never guess to look at the site at the exact moment it goes up, and the yarns are gone in two minutes. True again.
Time is a tricky thing when it comes to the best yarn and fiber enablers. One of the best is the monthly Phat Fiber box. This is a box of fibers, yarns, patterns, stitch markers, soaps, lotions,etc. donated by various talented artists who give samples of their products to help fill this box of surprises. Box quantities are limited and there are hundreds of us "Phatties" who chat about it on Ravelry, stalk our emails for the drop date and time every month, and race to go through the process of getting a box for $33. These boxes are gone within a minute. Yes, many of us have timed it and it comes in under a minute - incredible! Once we have our boxes in hand we get to try various products and of course we love them, and the very generous
I really am trying to remember that this is not the time to buy new yarn or fiber. The economy is horrible and I'm trying to make a bold move here and go on a yarn diet. Not trying to get a Phat Fiber box is a good first step. Not stalking Wollmeise is even better. I am waiting for the shipment from my last order though, so there is that... And I really got lucky with my last two Sanguine Gryphon updates and got wish listed yarns I'd been waiting for for six months. I'm good, I keep telling myself, for a good long while.
I'm thinking of starting to knit with my older stash yarn during these difficult times, and keeping my newly acquired precious yarns for emergency touching and holding when I feel my resolve melting away, which could be tomorrow. Maybe I'll take pictures of the Wollmeise and Bugga! from time to time and post that if I'm feeling weak. It could help. Well, it couldn't hurt to try.
It's about twelve hours since I started writing this. I decided to sleep since talking about the yarn was getting me thinking about sewing on the beads for the Martini Scarf I made for my daughter. Going to sleep seemed the safe way to go at the time. Now that I've finished writing, I'm going to sew on those beads and start the matching gloves, then finish some socks and start a new pair of socks for my son, and then.....maybe I'll go play with that Wollmeise. This may be harder than I thought.
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