The Life and Times of a Yarn Junkie

MamaBear with Sashay scarf - I love the bright colours

One model for four projects:  a
LionBrand Homespun shawl; a
studioloo (handspun) scarf on head);
two "twirly"scarves and one
fingerless glove

 From Red Heart Sashay to Frillseeker Light.  From hand spun Studioloo to hand dyed Handmaiden Sea Silk.  From Lion Brand Homespun to Marble Chunky.  I haven't met a yarn I didn't like. There are so many of them.  Of all types and persuasions.  Cottons. Acrylic.  Wools of all kinds - Alpaca, Merino, etc.  Silk.  Various scarf yarns. The colours:  soft colours; jewel-tone colours, bright colours; dark colours, variegated yarns, hand-dyed yarns.  A yarn for any season.  Any reason.  Ahhhh, the ecstasy of it all.  Sometimes I wonder if I've died and gone to yarn heaven.
So many yarns.  So little time to knit.

Or maybe I should give up sleeping....  Hmmm.  Now that's a thought.  Maybe not a good one, though.

My creative place - with finished and
unfinished projects

Two projects on finished Lighthouse
filet crochet afghan

To think, I used to believe that all yarns were carried by places like Michaels.  JoAnn's.  Mary Maxims.  Herrschners.  Lens Mills.

I had no clue as to the wide world of yarns awaiting me, beckoning me into their warm, soft embrace.

My pride and joy -
Handmaiden Sea Silk shawl -
slightly imperfect:  just like me

I had needlessly limited myself.  To think that one little store in a little town in Ontario was the key to broadening my horizons yarn-wise.  To point me in the direction of becoming a "yarn junkie".  Addicted to the feel and colours of other yarns, more expensive yarns.  Yarns made out of wool, silk, merino.  Yarns that feel like butter moving through the needles.  The touch alone calms the nerves and speeds in recovery.

Modelling my first ever hat.  I am
so proud of it.
Cowl made from Studioloo

Ahhh, pure blissful, decadent delight.

I had no idea that day that I first wandered into the yarn shop in Stratford that it would be a life-changing event.  Even when I left with my first pair of knitting needles and a couple of balls of Katia Triana scarf yarn, I had no idea what was to follow.

Chemo Hat for friend - crochet

I continued going back to the yarn store every time I had a counselling appointment in Stratford.  I like to think of it as the combination of two different kinds of therapy:  yarn and talk.  Both valuable.  The talk helps me sort of my issues; the yarn - ahhhh, the yarn.  What can I say except that the colours delight me, make me smile?  So does the owner with her kind words and helpful comments.

After my first couple of scarves, I started scouring the area of more scarf yarns.  I found both yarn stores in my hometown of Kitchener.   At that point in time, only one carried the scarf yarns.  Different from the ones carried in Stratford.  Then I found more scarf yarns in Lens Mills.  The hunt was on.  The quest had begin.  The thirst for yarn that could not be assuaged with only one type.

Thus began the beginning of the making of a yarn junkie.  A saga that continues on to this day.

See you next week.  Until then ... happy knitting - or whatever you do to stay sane.

A scarf for almost any occasion

CloseKnit in Stratford, Ontario ...

... is where my odyssey with knitting began.

The yarn shop in Stratford, ON that started it all.  The owners readily admit that they're guilty in their role in corrupting this poor little hooker - oops! I mean bear.  Unashamedly so.  In fact, they're proud of the needler aka knitter they're in the process of creating.

In my journey of recovery from complex PTSD, trauma, workplace bullying, etc., I've been blessed with a wonderful support in the form of a counsellor who has provided a safe place for me to examine and work through my issues.  But I had to be committed.  You see, this woman's office was originally in a small town, Milverton, Ontario, about 45 km from my home. (Described with accompanying pictures is an early blog post on my other spot).  I committed myself to driving there every other week in all kinds of weather and road conditions on country roads.  Roads shared by my nemesis - trucks.  Big trucks.  Little trucks.  Feed/grain trucks.  For a person who was afraid of driving, this was quite a commitment.

About the time, my odyssey with recovery from trauma/PTSD/workplace abuse was taking another twist in the road, my counsellor took a good hard look at where her ministry was heading and decided to move - to another small town, Stratford, Ontario - the home of the Shakespeare Festival.  The commute this time was still 45 kilometres (approximately) just in a different direction.  A change of scenery for my bi-weekly drive.

During my first trip to Stratford for "regular" therapy, I decided to get there early and just walk around the town a bit.  In addition to being known for the Shakespeare Festival, it is a lot of the little touristy shops that make going there so much fun - and expensive.

During my perambulation, I discovered a nice shoe store, several gifts shops AND a small yarn store.  Me, being me, I wandered in for a look-see (after all hookers use yarn too).  I wandered out with several skeins of scarf yarn, knitting needles and basic instructions on how to put two and two together - er - rather needles and yarn together to make a scarf or two.

This where the corruption began.  With the frilly scarf yarns.

I became intoxicated with these yarns and began to look for more - and more - and more.   I was becoming a "yarn junkie".