I pretty much cleaned out Woolcott’s supply of Classic Elite Lush this weekend (click the photo to embiggen) — finally using the wonderful gift certificate my honey had given me Christmas 2004. I want to knit myself a sweater, and I’ve been drawn to Pinup Queen from Stitch ‘n Bitch for some time. I hadn’t intended to buy the same yarn (and practically the same color) that was used in the book, but after feeling Woolcott’s range of worsted-weight yarns, I gravitated to the super-soft 50% wool/50% angora blend. And I was torn between a pale sage and this dusty blue color — and the fact that they only had a few skeins of the green sealed the deal.
Even with the gift certificate, though, it was a little daunting to actually buy and bring home this much yarn for one project. What if I eff it up? What if the design looks awful on me? What if not all of the skeins are from the same dye lot — one looks distinctly lighter and has less sheen than the rest, but since about half the skeins have no labels (and the Woolcott employee who deigned to go to the back to get most of the skeins), I have no way of knowing for sure if they really match. Oh, and since I don’t have a swift and winder, it’s going to take ages to wind all of these skeins into center-pull balls. (If I’d been smart — or braver — I’d have wound it at Woolcott, but I’d spent so much time there already waiting for the somewhat-surly woman to get my yarn, I just wanted to get the Sam Hill out of there.)
Jess says:
March 8th, 2006 at 9:02 am ESTVisit Jess
hiya! thanks for the welcome comment :) and good luck in Vegas. Five days is a pretty long time in that wacky place (I topped out after barely three) but try to watch the Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” in Las Vegas before you go, and it’ll at least make you glad you’re not along on the ride with *him*!
Editrix says:
March 8th, 2006 at 12:02 pm ESTVisit Editrix
Hi Jess — you’re welcome! Glad you found your way here, despite my having effed up my URL in your comments section. Quelle tool!
Terri says:
March 13th, 2006 at 3:49 pm ESTVisit Terri
Sweater-making is among the most satisfying knitting. And getting good yarn means you’ll do a good job and love the finished product. You are a dedicated knitter, so I’m not a bit worried that you’ll do a great job. This is how I’ve learned to fix mistakes and such (as much as I can, anyway)… because I didn’t want to ditch loads of gorgeous (and sometimes pricey) yarn–not to mention all the time and effort I put into these projects.
Terri says:
March 13th, 2006 at 3:54 pm ESTVisit Terri
OK… I can’t help you on the dye lots, but I really thought the moment I saw the sweater that it would look good on you–honest! Good choice. I always just wind the balls by hand as I go. It’s not too bad.
I’ve had pretty mixed experiences at Woolcott in the last several years–some stellar and some not-so-hot. I have a gift certificate to use there, too… I think I’m probably going to use it on yarn for that long-discussed scarf. But there are a bunch of sweaters and little baby girls to occupy my knitting first.
Editrix says:
March 13th, 2006 at 7:59 pm ESTVisit Editrix
Aw, thanks, Terri! We shall see. I’ve knitted a whole inch of the back and I’m already tired of the K2P2 thing! :)
The yarn is pretty nice to the touch. My goal is to be able to wear the sweater come fall.
Ezra says:
March 14th, 2006 at 9:31 am ESTVisit Ezra
Not being a knitter, only married to one, it took me a minute to figure out what K2P2 was. At first I thought it was one of your knitted robots.
And then I thought KatuPitu could be another home-made Pokeman card. Weapons: knitting needles!
Editrix says:
March 14th, 2006 at 9:40 am ESTVisit Editrix
Ezra, that is frackin’ awesome! (Sorry, I think I’ve seen a little too much “Battlestar Galactica” lately.) I am SO going to get my crayons out tonight and make a KatuPitu card!