WARNING: This post contains some serious yarn p0rn. If you are currently on a yarn diet, and are of a weak constitution, you should immediately leave this blog. If you should decide to not heed this warning, you may cause serious damage to your pocketbook and/or credit card with the temptation of serious stash enhancement. By continuing to read beyond this warning, you accept full responsibility for any and all yarn, fiber and related purchases made in your moment of weakness. Management of Talullah’s World cannot be held liable in any way, shape or form.

It’s been one of those insane weeks around here. Lots to do and not enough me to go around. I swear, if they ever offer human cloning, I just might have to take them up on it.

Last Saturday was the final shopping day at my local yarn shop, Purls and Girls. I made it perfectly clear to everyone in the family that I had every intention of being there when they opened on Saturday morning, even if it meant that I had to walk there. I live close to the downtown area, so the walk really wasn’t that bad, about 20 minutes when the knees aren’t acting up. But they did. I turned up my ipod to help me keep the pace up and pushed through the pain. I made it there 12 minutes before the official opening time. The shop keeper was sweet and allowed me in as soon as she saw me. She and I spent a little time talking, and I found out that business was great at the shop, but that her husband just got a job offer in southern CA that was much better than what he had here, so they are relocating. She did try to sell the shop, but the one interested party backed out at the last minute. So there goes our only decent yarn shop here in town. I don’t have a clue where the next closest one is to us.

Everything in the shop was 60% off, and if your sale price purchase totaled more than $200, then your purchase was 70% off. Most of the stock had been cleaned out by the week of half off sales she had. I took my time looking around, really trying to find anything that would appeal to my taste. All the cascade, koigu and other yummy wool yarns were nowhere to be found. Obviously purchased by other yarn junkies who knew that these wouldn’t last long at the discounted prices. But does this mean that I didn’t find anything? You should know me better than that by now! Let’s just say that when I was done, I got 70% off of my purchase! And thankfully, Spurg understands a sale is a sale.

I’m not normally a novelty yarn type, but I caved with this. When it is knit up, it creates ruffles, and each skein is enough for one scarf. The sample that was knit up in the shop was cute and they would make some fun scarves for those days when winter isn’t quite cold enough.

I couldn’t pass up this lace weight at the discounted prices. Enough for three shawls or stoles!

The last two hanks of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in the entire shop. I’m thinking about making the Haruha Scarf with them. Two hanks should be more than enough and probably enough left over for some fingerless gloves as well.

Nine skeins of Rose Silke-Tweed! Plenty to make this Cardigan.

Nine more skeins of Silke-Tweed in a rich teal. Another Cardigan in this pattern!

I’ve always loved the sparkle of rhinestone brooches that she carries, but I never bothered to pick any up before as I couldn’t justify spending what they were priced at for something that I would only wear occasionally. All three came out to be just a shade more than the price of one at full retail.

Some felting needles. I was going to pick up some eventually as I do plan on doing some needle felting one of these days.

And one head. Sydney calls it the “stupid head”. I’m not sure why. Perfect model for the blog and for shaping any felted hats that I may decide to do in the future. The hat is one that I made last weekend for Sydney out of one skein of Bernat Cool Crochet. I picked it up at Walmart to try out and I have to say, I do like working with it. It’s fingering weight, a blend of cotton and nylon, but it has a fantastic drape to it and a nice shimmery effect from the nylon. I’m sure I could find plenty of projects to make out of this yarn. Sydney was tickled when I finished it and gave it to her. I do have to do some finishing touches on it. I plan on making a few Irish Crochet Roses with leaves in different colors and attaching them to bar pin backings so that we can change the color of the roses on the hat. I just have to run up to the craft store to pick up the backing pieces and dig out my cotton crochet thread out of the stash. The free pattern for the Breezy Mesh Hat is normally worked up in a sport weight yarn, but the fingering weight makes a hat that fits Sydney well without being to snug.

*note: there have been other “stash” enhancements over the past few months as well. These purchases have been purposefully omitted to avoid pushing any and all yarn and fiber junkies over the edge of reason. The Management of Talullah’s World is attempting to avoid having the significant others of said yarn and fiber junkies from hunting her down while angrily waving credit card receipts in the air. Other “stash” enhancements may be featured in a future posting, at the discretion of the Management of Talullah’s World.

Do you remember when I spun this way back in October 2005?

It doesn’t seem that long ago, but it was! (see, here’s the post about it). It began calling to me again. I wanted to make something really special with it and I am nearly half way through it now. I can’t really show you what it is being knit up into, but I will soon. Probably in the next week or so as I only have the pattern half way written out.