You know how they say you shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, because you'll go crazy and buy everything in sight? The same could be said for yarn shopping after you've taken a week or two off from crocheting.
I like to take a little break between projects to rest my hands. So, I took a week off after I finished the "weekend" afghan. Afterwards, instead of picking up a new project from the stash of yarn I already have, I risked everything and went to P&S Fabrics "just to get ideas."
My friend Denise does a ton of "just to get ideas" shopping. She's able to satisfy her urge to shop by simply looking. She'll go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and browse through the aisles without buying anything and then come back down to Century 21 and find the same already heavily discounted item (on sale yet). And sometimes she doesn't even buy that!
P&S is a yarn junkie's dream (or worst nightmare). Conveniently (diabolically?) located a few minutes away from me on Broadway and White Street, the store sells yarns, crochet and knitting tools, pattern books and notions. They also have a ton of fabrics for people that enjoy sewing. Most of the other yarn shops in the city sell yuppie yarn which can be very costly. Yes they are fabulous yarns, imported from Italy, spun from the wool of sheep that lie on satin day beds eating bon bons all day, bla bla bla. But give me a sack full of Lion Brand Jiffy yarn on sale for $1.99 a skein and I'm a happy camper.
So, there I was on Wednesday, after a week of not picking up a hook, right in the middle of the sale bins at P&S. I wanted to crochet a poncho for my niece, Leonor, but I couldn't decide what color to get and I couldn't reach her on the phone. A sane person would have looked around, "just to get ideas," and come back after she knew what color her niece wanted. My sanity may be in question, but there's no question that I am creative.
"Ombre!" I thought. "I'll pick one of those ombre yarns that's dyed in a bunch of different colors." Then it'll look all psychedelic which is appropriate since I'm making a hippie-dippie poncho from a vintage 70s pattern. I wondered about the origin of that word and giggled that it's so close to the word hombre which means "man" in Spanish. Here I am drooling over a bin of ombres in all different sizes and color combinations. What would Freud say? Am I making some kind of subconscious substitution that proves my lust for yarn is just…lust?
I wanted to do a neutral color for Leo's poncho, so I chose Bernat Satin "The Softest Touch" (shut up, Sigmund) in Dune. I also got Patons Grace in Lavender for a sweater I want to knit. I want to make a poncho pour moi also, so I got six skeins of Red Heart TLC "Ultra Suave" in Country Club. I wonder if they make it in "Ultra Rico Suave" too? Stop!
Final tally: 89$ for at least three projects worth of yarn which really isn't that bad. Satisfied, I strolled out of P&S with my sack full of yarn, fantasizing about the different projects I would make. I had my yarn buzz on and I was mucho very happy. As I sat there dreaming about the silky feel of a thread of Patons Grace between my fingers, I realized that this is a passion for which there is no substitute. After all, "Sometimes a ball of yarn, is just a ball of yarn."
Posted by: Donna | Aug 04, 2004 at 11:27 PM