yummy yoke

Although I'm on the body of the February Lady sweater, I thought I'd just post a pic of the garter yoke, because I'm trying to get back to blogging more....and it's so pretty! I had bought 3 skeins of the Fibre Company Terra yarn from a destash on ravelry a while back, and when Article Pract had Terra as one of it's December Staff Picks (20% off!), I saw it as a sign to buy a lot more. :-)

I adore this yarn. It's unevenly spun, and occasionally there are really fat lumpy parts, but I don't care. That's part of its charm, and the colours of Terra are to die for. (ha, I just typed 'dye' instead of 'die') I see a lot more sweaters made of this yarn in my future, even though at around $16-$17 a skein for 100 yards at full price, it's not exactly inexpensive.

Lately, though, I find myself a lot more willing to spend more on lovely high quality yarns and not blinking so much at the price. It's not that I have any more money than usual, just that knitting with a yarn that I absolutely love is such a treat and a pleasure. Of course most people know this, but I think it really fits in with the whole "slow stashing" idea that was broached on Knitter's Review. The idea that you maybe buy less often, but buy yarn that really speaks to you, that really makes you do a double take, even if it's a little more pricey. And I love how this idea takes into account all of us yarn manufacturers and dyers that want to stay in business. It's why I still buy yarn at my LYS, even if I can get it a little cheaper elsewhere. Why I don't subscribe to magazines but buy them either from my LYS or the awesome local independent magazine store. (Issues, off Piedmont Avenue. Amazing.)

If I loved it when I bought it, and it feels beautiful to the touch and to knit, I'm going to be more likely to finish the item, and to invest the time to make sure the item that I knit with it fits well or is beautifully seamed. Of course, there are still a lot of affordable and budget-conscious yarns out there that are fantastic, too, like Cascade 220, which is a great workhorse yarn and feels good to knit with, as well as some of the Knitpicks yarn and others. And if I see a great yarn on sale, I'm certainly not going to pass it up. But I'm okay with spending a little more money now. After all, I put a great deal of time and thought into providing high quality yarns to my customers, and they're certainly not the lowest priced yarns or fibres out on the market. But I hope that they're a pleasure to knit with and spin with.

So here's to a great year of slow stashing and knitting with wonderful yarns that you love!

another pic of the yoke, because the colour (rosewood) is so beautiful: