a little buying binge

Some of you might recall that I put myself on a wool buying diet at the start of the year. For the full year, I would endeavour to not buy any wool yardage. I was/am feeling like I already have enough for now.....and seemed to be accumulating it at a much faster pace than I use it.

I've been able to live up to my personal pledge, up until last Tuesday. Yes a few pieces of wool have snuck in throughout the year....but always as a prize or gift. Of course, wool yard does not count! ;-)

Already on a bit of a shopping high following our visit to Passionknit, I just couldn't resist picking up a couple of pieces of wool when we stopped at Martina's.


The wool on the left is called "Tomato Soup" and it's a very worthy name -- not just because of the colour, but because of the feel of the wool: it's snuggle-soft and comforting. I just know that this is the sort of wool that you can never have enough of......and I will be wanting more long after it's all hooked up.

The other two wools are not quite as soft, but the colour is wonderful. The middle one is a beautiful green with hint of blue....and the autumn plaid will be wonderful for Fall. It reminds me of a scrap I had once and used up quickly.

When I first started hooking, I was encouraged to buy wool in 1 yard or 3 yard pieces (sufficient for a background). I don't subscribe to those "rules" any more. I would rather have several smaller pieces than one big piece, any day -- there is always more beautiful wool to be discovered.

Usually I will buy just 1/4 yard or 1/2 yard pieces of wool and I generally only buy 1 or 2 yard pieces when the wool is truly wonderful -- the feel, the feltedness, the colour, the weave, and the price are all perfect. Since it can be so difficult to predict how a wool will wash up, it's better to be left wanting more than to be left with a pile of wool you can't/won't hook with. Bolts are really just reserved for known staples, like oatmeal and natural or a neutral herringbone.

While I am a little bummed that I binged on my wool diet, I have to be honest and admit that I'm surprised I managed to hold out for eight and a half months. Plus, I will soon be heading down to Dorr, so I can just regard this little blip as a warm-up....and keep my fingers crossed that it's taken the edge off so I won't go totally crazy when I'm there. Who am I kidding? ;-)