Cheap SEX

(Stash Enrichment eXpedition that is)

There must be something in the air... whatever signals the squirrels to start burying their acorns is making me stock up on wool. Yeah... that's it... 'cause I didn't buy any yarn over the summer or anything. ;)

I went down to the Mill End Store on Saturday, and picked up some Pattons merino wool. I like that there's a lot of yardage in each skein - it means fewer ends to weave in. I picked up enough for a cardigan... and some buttons too. I just couldn't resist - only about $30 for a wool cardigan? That's a great price. As any knitter knows, we don't knit things because they're cheaper than buying them... but in this case it might very well be. I also picked up two skeins of Boku self striping yarn, which is fast becoming my new favorite yarn.

Then on Sunday I was at Michaels and I saw the exact same yarn for *considerably* less. I was not pleased. But I was also too lazy to go back and return the yarn I'd just bought. I hate returning things, so to somehow mitigate this cost injustice, I bought more yarn. Makes sense in my mind anyway. ;)

Oh, and a found a very practical pattern book. It's called the Next Two Steps and is basically a mix & match sweater book, there are three necklines and two sleeves, and instructions for a vest or pullover. It's all geared towards worsted weight yarn, but it has sizes from XS to 5XL. This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for when I bought the Ann Budd sweater book. But I think the Ann Budd book tries to cover *everything* every gauge, every neckline, every sleeve style etc. When I first got it, I was eager to try it out, and I got as far as photocopying all however many pages I needed for the sweater I wanted, and even started highlighting which numbers applied to me. But at some point I started highlighting numbers for a different neckline than the one I wanted, and realized I'd have to cross out that section, and oh - I'll figure it out later. The photocopy is around here somewhere.

So that hasn't been the most useful book for me. But this cheap-o little Pattons book looks good so far. I've already cast on for a V-neck vest with the charcoal colored wool. I'm excited!

And at the moment I'm enjoying the simple pleasure of knitting stockinette stitch, I like how it looks on the needles, all the nice even stitches. I like how it looks on me - I never buy cabled sweaters. And I'm really enjoying the depth of grey color - little threads of lighter or darker yarn add just the slightest character to it. The yarn is really soft & even, no hay or knots... just good yarn. I know there are a lot 'better' yarns out there, but this is really good quality for the price!

Right now, I'm a very happy knitter!