My favourites from my yarn stash

I went to a knit night last Thursday. I originally had other plans for the night but those got cancelled. Can't say I was too upset when I realized it was knit night and that I could go...

I worked on my neverending project (read Muir) and it seems I'm now halfway on it. Yey! If I shape up, it might actually be done for Christmas. So my mother can get it this year instead...

Sitting there I got really inspired by the others' projects. There was a Laminaria. A pair of baby trousers. A moebius shawl. A baby sweater in stranded knitting. A grown up sweater and something I can't remember (shame on me). I started thinking about my projects. And about the things I want to knit. And the yarn I have at home.

Well, one thing led to another and I spent maaany hours on Saturday going through my stash and photographing most of it. I loaded my pictures to Flickr (here) and then I added my stash to Ravelry (here). I didn't bother taking pictures of the tiniest scrap pieces or the most horrible yarns I have.

I decided that I'll try to work with my favourite yarns in my next couple of projects. I think sewing has had my attention more lately 'cause I haven't been in love with either the yarns I've used when knitting or the patterns (except for Clapotis in Manos Silk Blend that I'm truly enjoying!). This has to change!

Looking at all my yarns and touching them to take pictures had me realizing which my favourites are. Here goes. In no specific order.

This is Fino from Alpaca with a Twist. It was given to me by Geek Knitter last year and everything about it is right. The texture. The softness. The sheen. And the colour that shifts from purple to brown depending on the light it is in. I love it. And I think it would make it a great Juno Regina.

This is a fingering weight sock yarn from Cherry Blossom Fibers. The colour is called Cherrywood. I believe this was my first order ever from Etsy. I love the colour changes from brown to cherry to purple. And there's a lot of "spoing" in the yarn. I'm thinking about turning this into the smaller version of Laminaria. It requiers about 440yards and I have 460yards of wonderful Cherrywood!

This yarn is also a gift. It was given to me in my first yarn swap ever. Thanks Katie! My first lace weight yarn. I have about 400yards of this and I love every inch (and centimeter!) of it. The colours are amazing and the name Olivia is perfect for it. Katie got it from eBay and a seller called Yarnwise Designs. I've tried one or two lace patterns using this yarn but I haven't found one that I think works with the yarn instead of against it. I will keep looking.

Guess who got me this yarn? Katie again! And guess when! Yes, in the same yarn swap. This is yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarn on Etsy. Fingering weight and I have about 400yards of it. I love the pale lavender colour. I think this yarn wants to become a Diamond Fantasy Scarf. I've tried that pattern using a much more variegated yarn and didn't like the outcome. This yarn is more even in colour and I think it'll work real well.


So, there seems to be a lot of scarves and shawls in my near future. I'm even turning the sock yarn into scarves... I just can't be bothered with socks. I've tried them. Numerous times. And yes, I do like the process, but I always have problems making them fit me well and the two pairs I have made are just too warm to be worn most of the year... So, I'm staying away from socks.

I'm actually excited to start knitting the scarves. I just have to finish the two baby items I'm working on now. There's just seaming left to do on one of them. And a collar. But that should be quick, shouldn't it? I'm tempted to start Juno Regina with EssJay when she's starting a new one in a couple of weeks, but I also feel excited about using yarn that has been in my stash longer. So maybe I'll start with the combination of a new pattern (Laminaria) and an "old" yarn (Cherrywood from Cherry Blossom Fibers)?

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What are your favourite yarns from your stash?