April Yarn

My April stash club yarn is Live 2 Knit's Joan Sock Yarn (superwash Merino). My colorway is Alchemy.

March Yarn

I picked up the March stash club yarn in person (which is part of why you see so much stash growth since some other yarn ended up in the bag.) It is Kollage Organic Cotton - Hope - undyed cotton. I saw somewhere on Ravelry suggestions for tea dying which may be a great idea. If I use it to make a bag (the accompanying pattern), well, it wouldn't stay this pretty for long.

February Yarn: Great Minds

So, I was shopping for a knitting bag online (I didn't have a red/pink one). And decided to pick up some yarn so got myself a Tilli Thomas Shawl kit. It was a chance to get a fun cobwebby pattern and to check out this silk/Seacell blend I keep hearing about.

And then I got my February Yarn - same yarn. The only thing that would have been funnier, is if I had gotten the same colorway.

Imagine the Fountain

So, I decided to make a hat with my stash yarn. And having some attempts that I am not ready to talk about yet with berets, I decided the Fountain hat was a good compromise - being beret-like, yet cloaer to hats I have successfully constructed (Interweave, Spring 2008, but the pattern is up on Knitting Daily).
I used the Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock yarn, which was perhaps not the best choice. The yarn is lovely, but the pattern would likely show better with a more subtle colorway. I love how it turned out, but certainly if I really wanted people to see the pattern, a different color would have done that better.

As you get to the top, it seem like it's going to be too poofy - like you are accidentally making a beret without any decreases, but it works out fine. It's a very nice hat design.

January Yarn

So, now that we are practically at the end of February, I am getting around to blogging about the January yarn from the Stitch DC Stash Club. It is Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock yarn, in the Nora colorway.

It is a really neat colorway that hits that sweet spot where I really like it even though it is probably not a colorway I would have bought for myself.
I haven't decided it's destiny, although there might be something like a beret in it's future.

A Stash Club

I was toying with joining a certain sock club this year but was stuck on the fact that while the idea of a pretty skein of yarn and a pattern showing up once a month in my mailbox was endlessly appealing, I don't knit socks. Sure I knit things with sock yarn. I'm working on something now, in fact. And I could use the sock patterns for fingerless gloves or hats or other things. But for the cost - did it make sense? So, I decided to err on the side of financial caution.
And then I got an email from Stitch DC - they were starting a Stash Club*. See, sometimes financial caution has its rewards! (And for those of you suggesting the reward should be saving money, yeah, well, that's one approach.)
The idea behind the Stitch DC Stash Club is to focus on yarns from smaller producers that Stitch DC normally wouldn't carry due to limited ordering. For 2008 I get a skein and a pattern each month. There's also a Ravelry group and plans for gatherings (for those of us who are local) to chat and possibly even trade yarn.
So, I got my first packet in the mail last week.

Two skeins of Tilli Thomas in navy, one of Aspen (merino) and one of Mogul (beaded merino. The pattern is for ruffled finger-less gloves, which look great although I think I may use the yarn for a scarf - a beaded scarf really appeals to me right now.
We shall see, right now I just love looking at the yarn.
*The Stash Club filled up quickly, I was lucky to get in. However, it was open to anyone on the Stitch DC email list, and I'm guessing it will open up again next year. So, my sharing is not meant entirely as bragging.