The day of 95 skeins & a most excellent LYS

Remember when I accidentally ordered 83 skeins of yarn from Little Knits?

Yeah, me too.

Well, I didn't exactly order 83 skeins of yarn all at once. As I mentioned a few posts back, Little Knits holds orders (if you've placed, oh, I don't know, two or three in a week) and then ships them all together. Which is really good (they offer free shipping), but also really bad. Especially when your yarn weight amasses to a whopping 19 pounds. Which is what happened to me.

This is what 19 pounds of yarn looks like.

Using my chubby fluffy cat as reference

As Kate made a point to tell me, when I texted her said photo, "you're crazy." Well, yeah, but now I have some luscious, luscious new yarn. 

Now, dear readers, you may be viewing the post heading and scratching your head. "But Ashley," you may ask, "where did the other 12 skeins come from?" The answer, my dear Watson, is the magical place known as The Fold.

Located in Marengo, which doesn't really seem to offer much to passersby, The Fold is an amazing little yarn shop. They sell some incredible yarns (Blue Moon Fiber Arts! Malabrigo Sock! Frog Tree! Etc.!) and have the best selection of spinning wheels, roving and spindles that I have ever seen in a LYS. And you can really find some amazing deals. Or, in Christie's case, you can walk away with a free skein of Art Yarns Ultramerino ($22).

"It doesn't have a price sticker. It must be free!" - Toni, the owner

While I didn't get any freebies (oh wait, I did...), I did find some incredible steals. My entire haul cost around $60. Did I mention she offers a 10% Guild discount? Even on sale yarns?

2 skeins of Cascade Heritage Paints

This Cascade Heritage Paints cost me $1 (pre-discount). I snatched up the last two skeins. Same thing with this Beatrice I bought. I should have enough for a hat.

2 skeins of Beatrice by Classic Elite Yarn

I also bought two skeins of Artyarns Ultramerino 4 (fingering weight) for $2.25 each. They're two different colors, but Christie suggested I make some funky socks using both skeins. So much sock yarn!

Amazing, right? I also got a freebie mystery skein (I suspect it is Koigu) from the free basket. I'm pretty much in love with the colors.

Can anyone tell what this is?

I also bought some Classic Elite Miracle and Blue Moon Socks that Rock, but I shall save those for the next post. Because they are just that delicious. Plus this post, dedicated mostly to The Fold (and also my yarn hoarding tendencies), deserves its own digs. I will definitely be returning again, because each time we go it just gets better and better. And I'm sure we'll need more yarn in a few lifetimes weeks.

The woes of crafting alone

One of the things I miss most fervently is crafting with friends. Last year, back when I was a wayward college student, I started a crafting club at North Central College with one of my best friends. And it was awesome. I had something wonderful to look forward to each week and got to spend my Monday evenings with some fabulous ladies that I grew really close to.

But now I am graduated and stuck in my hometown.

Working in the yarn shop has definitely helped a bit; I work with some fabulous ladies and get to be surrounded by crafty people. It's not the same, though, and I don't feel as inspired to get crafty with my bad self. Crafting solo just isn't as fun.

I'd like to vow to spend this spring crafting more, with people or by myself. My work/class schedule (yeah, I'm taking classes again) is so hectic that I rarely have time to venture out to visit friends, but I'm hoping once May hits I'll be able to. And host craftalongs on my back deck.

First up: Chan Luu inspired bracelet. Green has been creeping into my color palette lately (especially jade and water green!)

Czech Beads in Jade and Emerald

I'm heading to Wisconsin this weekend for some family bonding with Matt's brother and sister, so I'll be bringing all my knitting with me.  I'll be working on my Cowboy Cowl, one of my Malabrigo March projects.

Cowboy Cowl in Malabrigo Worsted (Vetiver)

Dalloway in Tosh Merino DK (Calligraphy)

And I'm still working on adapting my Dalloway hat to accommodate a dk weight yarn. Tosh, Tosh, Tosh! I think it's going to look lovely.

And now here are some more yarn pictures. Just because :)

Koigu Painter's Palette

Moreeeee

Tosh Merino DK

Mooooore

Have a great weekend, dear readers. And I hope you will keep those living in Japan in your thoughts and prayers.