Happy Yarns-day!

So, this past two weeks has seen a myriad of fantastic sales in the crafting world. I'm proud to say I was very well behaved, but there was one sale that was just too good to pass up and I'm really glad I took advantage of - Knit Picks.

I've always been curious to try Knit Picks yarn, but having no local yarn store to feel around in, I always have to go by other peoples' experience when I buy a new yarn online. I have several patterns I want to make up that suggest Knit Picks yarn, but what if it's not as soft as I would like? This is a constant concern for me, and while their yarns aren't ridiculously expensive, I just never took the plunge for fear of wasting money on something I wouldn't 100% love (which has certainly happened to me before with online yarn purchases). Enter the fantastic Knit Picks sale and I finally felt it was worth the minimal investment to try them out - man, am I glad I did :) Not only was the yarn a great price, but I am pleasantly surprised by the colors and feel of what I chose. So, here is what I picked up:

First on the list was Wool of the Andes Sport in the Mai Tai Heather color way. I almost bought this back in May, but restrained myself. I had plans to make up an Audrey In Unst cardigan with it, which has been on my list forever. At only a little over $12 for all I needed 8 skeins), I was excited to hand over my money. The color is a bit less pink than it seemed online, but I still like it :) Believe it or not, I've never worked with sport weight yarn before, so it will be a learning experience all round. I'm really impressed with the feel of this wool - it's much softer than Cascade 220 (which seems to be it's online counterpart in the inexpensive 100% wool category). I'm excited to get working on this :)

While I was paying for the shipping, I figured I might as well grab a few skeins of other yarns I've been curious to try, right? I got 2 skeins of Stroll Sock yarn in Blue Topaz. I got this color because it was the only one left on sale, and I got 2 skeins because that's how much you need for a pair if socks. This yarn is Superwash Merino/Nylon and it feels amazing - so soft and smooth! I had this yarn in mind for a sweater, but I like that I can try it on some socks first. I'm pretty sure I'll live it though - plus these 2 skeins cost me $5.00 :)

I also have a zillion patterns that suggest Palette - it seems to be the go-to yarn for fingering weight color work. Since most colors were half their normal price, I grabbed a few skeins. There was no rhyme or reason to what colors I picked - I just chose some color ways I wanted to see in person to decide if I liked them for bigger projects, which I'm so glad I did! My favorites turned out to be much different than I thought when looking at them online. The best (in my opinion) is the almost black one in the front here - it's called Midnight Heather and it's the most amazing black with flecks of blue and green in it. I will absolutely be making a sweater in this color in the future (though I will wait for the next sale to grab more yarn, lol). The other favorites are Fairy Tale (kind of a deep fuchsia) and Macaw (my perfect bright green). I also grabbed a skein of Silver, Pistachio and Blue Note Heather - the last being the only one I'm sort of disappointed by. It looked so much more vibrant online than in person. I'm sure I will still use it though :)

So that was my little but of excitement in the mail this week, and the extent if my cyber sale week fun. I only spent $31.00 including shipping ... for 16 skeins of yarn! And they are all real wool! I know for a fact I've spent more than that on cheapy acrylics from Joann's before, so I am thrilled to get such a steal on this much nicer yarn. I can't wait for their next sale so I can buy more, and I would definitely say Knit Picks yarn is all it is reputed to be :)