Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Confessions of a Yarn Slut.

I have to admit, a year ago, I was in acrylic yarn hell. It was all I really used for any of my projects. Natural yarns seemed too difficult to find and too pricey to boot.

Some months ago I finally gathered up the courage to go into an actual yarn store and was blown away by the variety and beauty of the yarns for sale. I bought a couple of balls of hemp yarn and a sock blend in an amazing purple variegated colorway, and for months they just languished in my stash. I thought they were too pretty to play with and was still a novice knitter, so I worried about making the wrong thing or messing up the yarn somehow.

When we moved to Seattle a few months ago, I was determined to scope out my local yarn store to try to increase my stash (who doesn't?) and ended up spending a pretty penny on some very pretty yarns.

Then I discovered Etsy. And Woolgirl.com. And Natural Obsessions. Well, I was hooked.

It's not a cheap habit, by any stretch of the imagination. But oh! The colors! The softness! The love that goes into making these fibers!

My current obsession is Natural Obessions. Like I explained to my Dragon, I have no problems spending money on individual proprietors who hand-dye and spin these gorgeous skeins. Andrea is an amazing colorway artist and her yarn is so vibrant and beautiful! I've already ordered way too much, in fact....let me show you some of the colors I've gotten from her!

You're already familiar with the Lemon Drop and Coppertop that I've received from her. But here are a few more:


This lovely skein is 100% tencel, colorway: Amethyst.


This was one of the first that I ordered. Antique Brass.


This roving, called Hawk's Eye, will be spun for me by her very capable hands:)


My most recent purchase (as of last night): Her Eyes.


Another beautiful color: Nearly Grackle.


Obsidian, a 50/50 Merino/Tencel blend, I believe.

And last, but certainly not least:

Silver Lining. Oh how it shimmers!

She has many more exquisite yarns over at her Etsy store and I highly recommend her! She's an amazing woman with amazing vision and just amazing yarn. I swear, if I had limitless fundage, I'd buy everything she's got in a heartbeat (*starts making plans to win the lottery*).

I posed a challenge to her last night about a specific colorway I was hoping to find and she's taking it on!! *squee* I'm really excited to see what she comes up with because I know it's going to be gorgeous:)

Okay. Enough squeeing. I really should get some work done. BUT! I am not finished with pictures yet. *grin* I have a few of the scarf I'm working on that I took this morning. It's slow going, but that's because I procrastinate. But as soon as I get them uploaded, I will once again assault your eyes:)

Until then!

XOXO
Bella

2 comments:

Claudette said...

I love yarn shopping. I really have to watch how much I'm spending though. Otherwise I will end up regretting it, lol. Lately, I've put myself on a buying freeze if it wasn't for gifts. I need to get my savings built back up and yarn has a lovely way of taking it all away from me. :)

-Claudette-

Bella said...

*laughs*

I know. I've learned that I have no restraint when it comes to really beautiful yarn.

I'll eventually build up a tolerance, I'm sure...but until then, Dragon has his comics...I have my yarn;)