02.05.06

Yarn Cupcakes

Posted in Yarn and Tools at 2:24 pm by Rachel

Is it possible to be addicted to one’s ball winder? Because if it is, I think I’m a good candidate for a 12-step program.

But let’s back up. Yesterday’s trip to the LYS was quite successful. (The only snag was our failure to realize that the percent off to which we were entitled was determined by the time we arrived, not by the time we paid. It’s a policy that makes sense, but if we’d known about it earlier we might not have both fought off dizziness brought on by undernourishment in our attempt to make it to the hour in which the sale switched from 30 to 35 percent off.) That aside, we both did well. My mom got enough Manos to make a large afghan — you can see the gorgeous colors she picked off to the right. She also got enough white cashmere silk to make herself an elegant, luxurious wrap (and yes Mom, you are worth it!), plus she bought yarn for four gift scarves (the woman knits scarves like nobody’s business). Once we’d settled on our loot we had a great time just wandering around stroking the few things we weren’t buying and looking through the store’s vast collection of pattern books. My mom bought me Wrap Style for my upcoming birthday since we both liked so many of the patterns in it. Thanks, Mom!

And what about me? My success was not as broad but was highly improbable. My greatest hope had been to find yarn with which to knit Tubey, but I was not at all confident that, under the pressure of the sale, I’d be able to find yarn in the right gauge, in a fiber that can be worn right next to the skin, and, most importantly, in the right colors. Well, I walked in, looked around for under 10 minutes, and found the exact colors I wanted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino — the exact yarn called for in the pattern. Apparently the fun fur I burned in homage to the Yarn Goddess before leaving yesterday had the desired effect, because I never expected to have such luck. I bought 13 balls that, with the discount, came to the precise amount of the gift certificate I had received for Christmas. I think I’ve used up all my luck for the month. This may be a bad thing for reasons I will explain later in the post.

You may recall that I had was hoping to make Tubey in the color scheme featured on the cover of the most recent Restoration Hardware catalogue (hey, inspiration is inspiration; it doesn’t matter where you find it). Let’s see how I did, shall we?

Not half bad, eh? I was pretty surprised and pleased.

So I bet you’re wondering what this is about a ball winder addiction. (Or maybe you’re a kindred spirit and don’t need any explanation whatsoever.) Well, unsurprisingly, some of the balls of Cashmerino were a bit disheveled, what with the urgent pawing and rooting associated with the sale. Maybe a third of my balls looked something like this. I decided it would make sense to go ahead and re-wind the messy balls so that they wouldn’t get tangled. Once I’d done those, though, I honestly could not stop. I couldn’t bear to have some of the yarn for the project wound into mini yarn cakes (yarn cupcakes, if you will) while the rest just slouched around in loose ball form. So like a fiend I just kept winding and winding and winding. Feast your eyes on this:

Stunning, isn’t it? It makes me think of chocolate cupcakes and pastel frosting. In fact, I’m kicking myself for not arranging them into a cupcake shape for the photo.

Anyway, this post is long enough, so you’ll have to wait for the next post to find out why it’s a bad thing that I may have used up my monthly ration of luck.

Oh, by the way, I’m a bit of a fool. Here I was thinking it was a huge amazing deal! that my mom’s local yarn store was having such a significant sale this weekend. Well, I stopped in my own LYS this afternoon to get the needles I need for Tubey only to discover the place mobbed: all the yarn was 40 percent off and all the books were 30 percent off. (The needles, naturally, were full price.) I inquired at the register (after a 40-minute wait in line) and apparently most yarn stores have big sales Superbowl Weekend. Live and learn, I guess (and what a great thing to learn!).

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