Monday, November 12, 2012

Cone Yarn

Thursday at knit group, Ingrid told us of a Big  Yarn Sale.  She had only sketchy details, but knew it was taking place in Collingwood from Nov 10 - 18.  It sounded like a liquidation sale - I was curious.

I messaged a weaving friend from Collingwood via ravelry to ask  if she knew of the sale.  Turns out she did. A local 'production weaver' is downsizing and selling off her yarns at 75% below retail.

Now what's a girl to do?

Five cones is all I bought.

 Two, off-white wools and one white, boucle, knit-a-long yarn. Lucette's TDGSY jacket  was the pattern on my mind Saturday as I went shopping for the white yarns.

The small cone of rust boucle I thought  might work as a tag-a-long coupled  with the off- whites.  Once home, though. I realized it is too dark for the mono-chromatic look the sweater demands.

The last item I spotted was the large cone of green tweed.  Resistance was futile.  With a  life- time supply of green yarn,  what fun I could have teasing my friend Nicki.  She  is sick of seeing me in green and keeps insisting I branch out colour-wise.

Wilma emailed to say she had gone to the sale but was disappointed.  She thought the yarns looked old, dated and had a 'too-long-in-storage' smell to them.  She passed.

Today, to take  the picture for this post, I took all cones out of the bag and set them on the desk.   Wilma is right.  There is a certain, not-very-pleasant  'eau-de-storage' about them. 

But for $22,  no tax, on a dark, grey, Saturday afternoon,  I had a fun hour fondling fibre.   So  my way of looking at it is  --"Bargain if I never use it".  Or     "I've spent it in worse ways."    Or   "They're  printing it everyday."  Take your pick.  Or   my   Robert Frost's final word on the subject  -

Never ask of money spent
Where the spender thinks it went.
For no one was ever meant
To remember or invent
What he did with every cent.

My sentiments exactly.





3 comments:

Sel and Poivre said...

Like your friend I have no vision or ability to see past the context of bargain sales in bargain settings.

I've long considered it one of my greatest weaknesses.

I envy your "joi de vie" that allows you to sometimes enjoy the thrill of the chase even if it might have a whiff of Eau de Storage"!

Now I must be off to struggle with making out the secret combination of numbers and letters that blog comments today command. Honestly, oftimes it takes me longer to get it right than to read the post and comment!

pattie in Geneseo said...

I bet if you skein those up, soak and dry them, you'll have the loveliest collection of yarn added to your stash! Congrats on the restraint!

Needles said...

Oh no Brenda, I think you are just right, though I'd have to see the yarn to know if it would work. I think what you need to do is what a Phildar sweater from a couple of years ago did. Start with one white 2 rust or 3 on the places the yarn should be darker and down to 1 strand only where the yarns are a little lighter. The yarns lighten up a little and your knitting gets looser and more open, but it looks quite nice. Probably not with garter stitch though. Just a thought.