The Club Craze: Self Striping Yarn Club

I have fallen off the fingering weight wagon...again. Despite my self-imposed kibosh on all self-striping sock yarn, I joined a three-month sock yarn club this week. I am choosing to characterize my slip up as stash enhancement because Quaere is one of my favorite indie dyers, and I stalk her Etsy store daily.

Unlike other clubs I have participated in, where there is a blind reveal, she has opted to share inspiration photos. Check these out.

Quaere Self Striping Yarn Club January inspiration photo

Quaere Self Striping Yarn Club February inspiration photo

Quaere Self Striping Yarn Club March inspiration photo

Needless to say, I loved them ALL.

I’ve found that yarn clubs can be a mixed bag. While I do enjoy the surprise and anticipation around club selections, I appreciate my need for control even more. It’s the reason I cannot knit fraternal socks or the polar opposite colorways that seem to be so popular. My socks must match – from cuff to heel to toe. And knowing the colors that may inspire a club yarn makes the lump sum purchase easier to make since I know that I will love and use each selection. No destash sales here.

So back on the wagon I go. Until next week, bon tricot.

Comments

Back to Basics

The first week back after a long holiday is always the hardest. I also find it’s where I tend to lose focus of my goals…and so it went this week for journaling and the yarn diet. While I managed to journal four nights in a row, I missed three by week’s end. I also fell off the destash wagon visiting a charming LYS seven minutes from a conference I was attending for work. I don’t feel as badly about that relapse since I bought a non-fingering weight yarn in a 100% marled alpaca. They also had some knitting notions that I’ve only seen online – bamboo chunky circs and a Knit Kit. The Knitting B, Richmond, VA But how to explain the sock yarn purchase? FOMA (fear of missing out). One of my favorite dyers posted a 24-hour- only skein to celebrate her 6,000 th sale on Etsy. Those exclusive speckles did me in. Canon Hand Dyes by the amyleeshow on Etsy This week has shown me that it’s easy to get off track, so before I ...

A Tale of Two Toques

I finished my Chelsea Market Hat this past weekend using Madelinetosh Chunky in Reindeer. This was a fun project. I had originally queued this hat up to use with a different yarn, Canon Hand Dyes Gustave MCN Aran in Frank Wolverton Randall, the first shipment in the Among Friends Outlander Club . This skein was rich and buttery, but with 180 yards, my garment selection would be limited to either a hat or a pair of mitts. I wanted something with texture, and cables captured the Celtic, Outlander theme. I came across Caryl Pierre’s Chelsea Market pattern first. I particularly liked the slouch effect and the chunky cable combined with the garter rows. But after seeing a post in another Ravelry forum, I decided to use Justyna Lorkowska’s Sand Bank . The reason for the change? Cables. I need more cables (said in my best Christopher Walken voice - pathetic, I know). Sand Bank Hat That left the Chelsea Market Hat f...

Knock Your Socks Off

Back in 2011, like millions of thrifty fashion lovers, I camped outside (okay, I got there five minutes before the doors opened) my local Target waiting to shop the highly anticipated (and well-marketed) Missoni for Target line. Weeks before the launch, I had scoped out the look-book and identified exactly which items I wanted to buy. But despite having a disciplined plan of attack, all restraint, and apparently reason (my own, in case that wasn’t clear), was cast out of my cart, presumably so I could fill it up with things I had never planned on buying. As if that wasn’t bad enough, after hauling my purchases home and trying to forget how much money I had blown, I then… logged onto the website – or at least tried to – to purchase even more zig-zag wares! From there, the my insanity escalated. Before I knew it, I was trolling Ebay bidding on overpriced merch that would make the seediest loan shark blush. There I was at 2 am scoping out auctions, in...

Bon Tricot

Search This Blog