Yarn Goodies in the Mail

It's no secret I am addicted to yarn. I love to wander around my favorite LYS touching, looking, squeezing, rubbing, sniffing. But as an Orlando resident, I don't have access to huge shops like the ones near my in-laws' in Portland, Oregon, or in other colder weather/larger city areas. Granted, my own yarn stash is bigger than some Florida yarn shops, but as I'm working on the book, I can only design with yarns readily and currently available, so there's a lot of yummy yarn in my stash that I'll just have to save for personal projects (as if that'll ever happen again) or pass on to my stash-starting niece. Lucky girl!

These days I spend a fair amount of time researching yarns online after I get some brainstorm for a project and kind of know what type/fiber/weight yarn I'd like to use. Yarn companies have been really great in responding to requests for samples and color cards and info on colors being discontinued so I can see the yarn close up and personal and make sure I'm choosing the best yarn for the project. The up side is I can swatch and calculate yardage requirements before ordering so I get just enough and I don't end up wishing I'd chosen a different shade. Oh, but the down side. I get skeins of yummy stuff and color cards that make me drool and then I think of 20 other things I want to make with it I'm having trouble sleeping as my little knitting brain thinks up other stuff I could make with whatever just arrived in the mail.



Yesterday I got this yummy temptation in the mail. It's from Blue Sky Alpacas, one of my favorite yarn companies. I can't wear it here in Florida because alpaca is just so warm and toasty, so thank goodness parts of the Deep South are mountainous and/or chilly in the winter! These color cards were so cool I had to share them with you. They're for Worsted Hand Dyes (50% royal alpaca and 50% merino) and the cards are like little painter's palettes with chunks of yarn tied along the edges. Plush and soft and fluffy and gorgeous. And pefect for my design for an Ozarks inspired hoodie. Of course now I want an afghan for myself out of it. And the bright shades would make an adorable sweater/hat set for my great-nephew. And maybe some really fringe-y gift scarves for next Christmas. See what I mean? It's hopeless. Well, maybe it's just I'm hopeless. But I'm OK with that....