Knitting Talk

I finished my dad's Xmas scarf, its the Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, a few days ago. I've been looking for a local source of Koigu Premium Painter's Pallette Merino (KPPPM) yarn for the Lacy Chevron Scarf from the same book for my mom's Xmas scarf, but haven't found it yet, so I haven't started that project. I've heard such wonderful things about KPPPM, that I don't want to just substitute another handpainted fingering weight yarn, thought I think that Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock might do it. I know that my Secret Pal sent me a hank of it, and if I could just remember where I put it, I would be able to see if it would work for the pattern. My LYS carries Cherry Tree Hill but not Koigu, and the CTH comes in 4 oz. hanks (vs. 50 gram hanks), so it wouldn't require as many ends woven in (which, besides lining, is my least favorite part of knitting).

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In the mean time, I have been trying to be motivated about using up my stash. Unfortunately, when I learned to crochet, I went on a yarn-buying binge at a big box store. So I have a lot of ridiculous, awful, acrylic yarn. Like Homespun and Chenille Thick & Quick. Another part of my stash is yarn from my grandmother, which is primarily acrylic from the 80s. It isn't a whole lot of yarn, and I'm not going to get rid of the better stuff, but there is a fair bit of Red Heart Super Saver, which I haven't found a way to make usable yet. I also went through a phase of thinking that wool was evil, so everything is a cotton blend or some other ridiculous synthetic. It all feels like shiny twine. What was I thinking?

Most of that stuff is just partial balls now, except for the seven balls that were purchased with the intentions of making the ribbed ribbon tank from Hip to Knit. I've checked gauge, taken measurements and restarted on that tank top, but its hard to get excited about form fitting, cotton-blend, beige tank top when you are pale, lumpy and not that into tanks. What was I thinking?

I have a few sweaters that have been unraveled, and some Cascade 220 that I intend(ed) to felt, until I discovered that felting required making my room smell like a wet sheep (which is similar to a wet dog and just as unpleasant), but mostly, just an uninspiring yarn stash. Its not even that big, so space isn't an issue, just the fear of waste. I guess that I can always make things for charity, but some of this stuff is just unpleasant. What was I thinking?

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All of this lamenting about my bad yarn decisions makes me realize that I need to get out of the house. Time for a walk, maybe I'll take a book and go to the beach. Yes, that's what I'll do. Thanks for listening.