Yarn Junkie

Yarn Junkie

I’ve caught the knitting bug.

Color dreams, fiber withdrawal, a fascination with needles…Okay, maybe not a bug, more like an addiction.

I’m certainly not alone. Now I understand what my friend Joanne (who was patient enough to walk me though my first row of stitches) meant when she said she had to quit. Never one to stop midway through any challenge, once she starts knitting she’d can’t put her needles down.

A few evenings on Ravelry confirms that this is a global epidemic, affecting thousands of crafty types (over 180,000,000 page views a month). This is Facebook for yarn lovers (but so much better) an impassioned knitting circle and well-stocked yarnshop woven into one vast resource. Members can share pictures of their finished masterpieces, along with a materials list and useful tips about the pattern and technique. There are numerous special interest groups to join, with names like Anthropologie, Zimmermaniacs (after the doyenne of knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman, and knit.sock.love.

Many designers self-publish their own patterns, and offer them for free or as nominally priced downloads. After a quick search of “Liesl”, the name of a summery tank that I had seen at CocoKnits, I easily locate their Ravelry page featuring the pattern. There, I click on the Projects tab which takes me to over 300 unique entries from members who’ve shared their very own Liesl creations.

Wondering about which yarn to use? Back at the pattern’s page, another tab links to a showcase of selected yarns, noting their frequency of use with links back to the completed project pages. Yarn can also be searched by color, brand, fiber content, and project; it’s easy to get lost in the pure pleasure of discovery. Some hardcore users even post pictures of their own gorgeous stash. “Stash” in knitspeak is one’s yarn supply, made up of “skeins” (the twisted Krueller-like shape yarn is usually sold in), as well as those ping pong size remnants left over from finished projects. Is your stash more like a hoard? There are many organizations that can put your surplus to good use. 

Fortunately, unlike a number of other addictions, this one won’t kill you, unless of course you spend your life savings on your stash and no longer find time to do anything else, like your real job or walking the dog. Fortunately, I can still limit myself to knitting after eight, often surprised (and a bit disappointed) when Charlie Rose wishes me a goodnight. An hour or two in knitspell is nothing.

My stash:

A delicious ‘grab bag’ of samples from Habu, makers of an extraordinary collection of yarn in fibers ranging from mohair to stainless steel.

A smoky lavender mohair from Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze collection combined with a linen wool roving from Habu.

Incredibly soft Tanguis Cotton skeins from Mirasol Peru.

Elis Cowl in Pina, a Baby Alpaca and Bamboo blend from Mirasol Peru.