Christmas in July: Yarns & Accessories

We're right smack in the middle of August. I waited three months for these goodies to come to me, and they've waited another three months to be blogged about. I wrote about receiving the needles first, otherwise the baby socks and other exciting projects wouldn't come into being.


First up, my Knitpicks Sunset Picnic Lace Sampler. Six beautiful colors! Actually I also liked the selections Sea View, Winetasting and Riverside Cafe, but was on a budget (needles before yarn) so I chose the brightest, warmest, happy colors. Of course I keep in mind that whatever is made of these yarns must be suitable for the tropics. I can't stop touching these, they're made to attract the hand, otherwise you wouldn't work with them or wear them. Knitpicks really tries to live up to their motto: "Passionately committed to affordable luxury knitting." It sounds like an oxymoron, the combination of the words "affordable" and "luxury". But if it means Knitpicks offers access to better quality materials to motivate the home knitter, I'm all for that!

Next, my Lacis Yarn Ball Winder. I remember mentioning in a previous post that I wanted a Royal Yarn Ball Winder as it was mentioned in Knitters Review, but when I discovered the price difference (Lacis at USD 27.99 vs. Royal at USD 34.99) I figured that the basic mechanism didn't differ too much between brands and ordered the more affordable Lacis. Locally available crochet cotton sometimes comes wound around a cardboard tube (Cannon, Anchor) and therefore I can't find the center pull to knit from. It's a major pain to have the ball rolling around madly and then getting all tangled up. After I've wound the balls (as needed) I just keep the working ball in a ziploc bag with the project needles to keep it clean and portable (stash in handbag and go). It can be addicting winding balls, but there's one area where they can't compete: winding frogged (read: unravelled) yarn while the project is still attached. That's where I use our nostepinne (made for us from a photo by our local furniture repairman). And I love this, because this is Joy's advance birthday gift to me.


I really wasn't planning to order these notions (Susan Bates Universal Knit Counter & Boye Balene II Stitch Marker Rings, both under USD 2), but Joy needed to make up a minimum purchase to avail of free delivery for sale items from Knitting Warehouse.com. At the moment they cost more locally than online, so I decided to get them. The row counter helps, especially when knitting to pattern, to shape. I've already used the stitch marker rings on the beginnings of a shawl project, just to remind me where I am in a 200+ stitch cast on (a fine yarn, better not make more mistakes than necessary).

And last but not least:

Lion Brand Pound of Love claims that you can make a baby hooded blanket using just one giant skein. Caron One Pound claims that you can make 4 full scarves! Don't you just love value! Best of all, they are machine washable acrylic. At first glance they seem a bit thick (worsted weight) for the tropics, but I don't think I'd complain if I snuggled into a finished afghan at the height of typhoon weather. I chose nice antique-ish colors so that either gender may benefit from a finished product. I still have no idea what that would be, but it's nice to have these on hand.

Stash: Lion Brand Cotton Ease

During my first meeting with Ines last Saturday I saw some Lion Brand Cotton Ease which Joy was currently obsessed with. Cotton Ease is 50% cotton and 50% acrylic, and best of all, machine-washable. Joy was thinking, perfect for baby blankets... I ended up buying two of Maize (color 186) and one Violet (color 191). For non-knitters they might seem a bit pricey (PhP 320 per 100g skein at Dreams in Glorietta 2) but if it's for your loved ones, they're worth it*. The softness is unbelievably good against your skin. Such texture makes sure all your knitting effort is appreciated long, long after.

Having just learned cable stitches I was thinking, perfect for a man's scarf! The worsted weight makes the cables pop out against the background, and it's a real classic. Originally I was thinking of it for my brother-in-law's upcoming birthday, but when Joy saw the initial stages of the project she suggested it would get more wear if I gave it to my dad instead, who travels regularly to Baguio. "Tatay has a dark blue sports jacket that's always in his luggage, the Maize scarf will look great with that."

Wish list colors for this yarn: Olive Green (color 132), Lime (color 194), Lake (color 110), Hazelnut (color 125), Almond (color 099).

*compare with getting it overseas via eBay and with shipping... getting it locally is instant gratification, you don't "lose" it in the mail, and the VAT you pay helps the Filipino economy.

Stash: Sale Bin Mystery Yarns!

Welcome to sneak peeks of my stash. This is my contribution to the worldwide phenomenon of "yarn porn" (the term, my friends, is not mine, nor new, hahaha). Tactile fiber goodness!

Last Tuesday when I met the senior knitters at Lilli's Dreams boutique (see previous post) it was while looking for cable needles. I didn't find any, but I did get me some Susan Bates Quicksilver double-pointed needles in US 1 (2.25mm) , 2 (2.75mm) and 3 (3.25mm) to use just in case. I wanted to learn sock-knitting from Ines, but while I waited for the time I would be able to see my volunteer teachers on Saturday (or Tuesday), I might as well learn cable stitches...

I really wasn't looking for yarn, honest. I always say I have enough for the meantime, but for a knitter, how much is enough?

They just sort of called out to me. Lovely, anonymous, value fingering-weight yarns, in off-white, butter yellow, and dark chocolate. Butter yellow is Lilo's favorite color, and the rest of the family loves it as much. We also tend to go with the more natural looking shades. The yarn cakes (on average) went for about PhP 125 each (approx USD 2.25). I have no idea how long they are in yards or meters, since these are supposed to be factory/store close-outs. And while I'm not sure, I think they're acrylic. They have that slightly hairy shiny look about them.

When I bought them I had absolutely no idea what they'd turn into. I got 2 of each color. Maybe I'll make small shawls or scarves or maybe a simple knitted tank top...