Thursday, November 13, 2008

I Should be Saving Money....

But instead I'm buying yarn. (and shoes)

I really want to make the Lion Neck Cardigan from Custom Knits. This book rocks! I would give it 6 stars if that was possible. The patterns are nice, some of them are outstanding in their simple but elegant design. But the true value of the book is the clean articulation of how to customize top-down seamless sweaters, including how to knit different types of sleeves from the top down.

I've read Knitting Without Tears and Knitting From the Top. Both are good (I especially like Barbara Walker) but Custom Knits summarizes the important concepts from both books and others in such an easy to understand and straightforward way that you wonder why you weren't able to figure it out yourself. (It's OK...Wendy Bernard has done it for you now so don't beat yourself up over it).

What does this have to do with not saving money?

The Lion Neck Cardigan pattern calls for Rowan RYC Soft Tweed, which is discontinued. I looked through my considerable stash for possible substitutions, checked Ravelry for other yarns that people used with that pattern and decided it was best to find some Soft Tweed.

After a little Googling, I found an amazing deal at Bargain Yarns which I immediately snapped up - 8 skeins of Soft Tweed in Bark. Then I looked around the site and found Cherry Tree Hill Silk and Merino Bulky. Bulky, people. 372 yards in each hank. I could not pass this up. I bought 2.

So you see, I'm not saving money because I'm buying yarn. (and shoes)

Do not tell my husband.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I spent 20 minutes looking at Custom Knits last weekend, and didn't buy it... mistake? The patterns didn't really do it for me, but the technical descriptions looked really thorough and easy to understand. I may have to put that one back on my list.

Anonymous said...

i'm going to have to check that out, of course I rarely customize patterns as I'm miserable at it. Maybe I'll go check it out at Borders first.

Tabitha said...

"Do not tell my husband"?? Hmmm...does that mean Karl doesn't read this blog when he should be?! SHOCKED! hee hee

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

I have so much yarn but the temptation to buy more is more than my mind can bare so I usually give in to my baser instincts;)Hugs Darcy

Unknown said...

Hi Lynette,
Bit of a blast from the past, but I've been a bit off the net this year with family ill health.

How are you and your family? hope all is well.

wondering what to do with the ufo blog. Are you interested in continuing with it?

Seasons Greetings
Joanm

Knitting Out Loud said...

They say knitting is cheaper than therapy.