Seduction at The Yarnery

Beautiful alpaca yarn and knitting patterns

Every year I tell myself that I won't spend December playing catch-up with Christmas cards and gifts. For the first time ever, I decided to do something about it. With Labor Day is still a week away, the opportunity jumped out at me yesterday at lunch, when Bob's daughter Sonia showed me her yarn and pattern purchase from The Yarnery across the street from Billy's on Grand. Sonia had taken advantage of a great sale and I was eager to begin Christmas crafting, so off I went to shop while Bob and Sonia chatted after our meal.

I was immediately accosted by a very helpful customer service person who sat me down with half a dozen books of Scandinavian mitten patterns. I settled on a colorful volume of hats and mittens, still pricey at 50% off.  The pattern I chose calls for alpaca yarn, not cheap, but at 20% off, who can resist? Too bad my tastes ran beyond the clearance items, or even those 40% off.

I have two pairs of mittens in mind as Christmas gifts, and I figure that if they really don't turn out Bob and I can use them for working outdoors. They'll be damned expensive work mittens, though! I walked out of the store $59 poorer, partly because I needed to buy a set of double-pointed size 6 needles.

My heart sank when I read the pattern I'd chosen. The mittens are lined, which seems like a good idea, but I wonder if lining doubles the amount of work. Moreover, I didn't even understand some of the terms, including several references to stiches cast on with "scrap" yarn.

 I was a little encouraged this morning when I saw the large number of internet videos, covering virtually every problem I could possibly encounter. Mostly, I was upset with myself for spending so much money on a project that may not even get off the ground before the snow files. Or ever.