In which St. Tracy preserveth my bacon
I came home from Knitting Camp determined not to buy any more yarn for a good long while. My suitcase was stuffed full of Unspun Icelandic, Jamieson’s Shetland Jumper Weight, angora-wool blend from Kimmet Croft for some Bohus experiements, Satakieli for mittens and a hat (and a couple of skeins as a present for a friend), and a gorgeous lone skein of Bartlett Aran-weight called Blackberry that was too tasty to leave behind. And the home stash is already, shall we say, sizable. But as soon as I figured out I was going to run short of yarn for the secret cardigan, I panicked. I ran all over town (and this town has a lot of yarn stores) in search of a substitute. Sometime I’ll show you a picture of my new Yellow Yarn stash. I was contemplating everything from unraveling a sportweight to get at a single ply to dyeing blanks myself. I was ready to try some Koigu sock yarn in a promising color. I ordered a variegated skein online that looked like it incorporated the right yellow, even though I knew I’d have to experiment with bleaching the darker brown portions. And finally I took the advice of a cool-headed reader and went over to Ravelry to see if anyone was willing to swap some stash. It’ll never work, I thought. The yarn I’m using is too obscure and too old. Even if someone had something I know comes in a similar color and preparation, like Malabrigo Lace, there’s no way I could get it in time to meet my deadline.
And then there they were. Three beautiful cheese-doodle marigold skeins of Malabrigo Lace in Sunset. In the stash of a local knitter who happens to be a friend of a friend, with whom I’ve already corresponded on Ravelry: Tracy knit one of my favorite versions of the Twisted Tree pullover for her younger son. Tracy was willing to let me buy one of her skeins, so yesterday evening I cycled up to her house, met her family, had a little chat, and cycled home again with the precious ball tucked into my backpack. I’m alternating rounds with the old yarn and the new, but the match is so good you can’t even tell.
That’s my first try at a tubular bind-off, by the way. It takes an age in comparison with the old leapfrog standby, but doesn’t it look nice?
I did it last night while I was watching History Boys, which I liked up until the bizarre ending. (We looked it up and found it was adapted from a play, which makes perfect sense, and also that the cast were mostly the stage actors from the original production, which explains how good they were.)
Anyway, I’m finishing one sleeve tonight and since there’s no seaming to be done, I have every hope of finishing by the end of the Tour! A thousand thanks, Tracy. If good karma doesn’t flood your way for this kind act immediately, I’ll personally go beat it out of the bushes and shoo it towards your front door.
Posted: July 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
It’s lovely, I can’t wait to see the final product.
Posted: July 26th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
fantastic match!! how great!
Posted: July 26th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
What a wonderfully small world we live in sometimes. The yarn you needed was so close to home and i think that’s just amazing.
Bacon well and truly preservethed!
ps one of my arm holes is wrong. I’m in the middle of doing a last minute fix up – it’s Sunday here now!
Posted: July 26th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I’m so glad you liked The History Boys. It is one of my absolute favorite movies ever. But yes, the ending is a little bizarre. In the play I believe the flash-fowards are more interspersed throughout
Posted: July 26th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
I Love that bindoff! It looks so great. I will have to check out History Boys I have never heard of it.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Dear lord, small world. And Thank God for Ravelry. History Boys really was an odd movie.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Whoohoo! I’ll be thinking of you and your yellow “jersey” as I watch the cyclists take on the last laps around the Champs Elysées today.
I liked History Boys too, despite some odd quirks. Knowing that it’s a play does explain them.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 3:25 am
great colour. i think it is alright to have a massive stash as long as you pay your bills and don’t get moth attacks. i am sure the stash makes you more creative.
the malabrigo is beautiful and i am looking forward to seeing the result.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 3:27 am
oh yes and i love the tubular cast on and bind off. i do find it a little bit difficult to do the bind off. it has a tendency to slant a bit.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 5:03 am
LOVE LOVE LOVE the color – and I am so happy that you found someone willing to part with a skein! Again, yay Ravelry!
I only do tubular cast-offs for my toe-up socks. However, I have so far been unable to do a tubular cast-on. So lovely.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 6:05 am
That is so awesome! I am so happy to hear how it all panned out for you…karma, indeed. You must be doing something right!!!
Looking forward to the finished piece.
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Always happy to help a fellow cycling knitter. I’m so glad it’s working out!
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Knitters are such awesome people. Yay for disaster averted and what looks to be yet another gorgeous design : )
Posted: July 28th, 2008 at 5:48 am
The Secret Cardigan is looking great so far! I can’t believe after all that, you found the yarn just a bicycle ride away.
By the way, I heard that yarn dissolves in bleach, is that true?
Posted: July 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Yay, I’m so glad it worked out! The color is just amazing. Although I’m sure I’ve already said that before. 😉
Posted: July 28th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Whew! That was close.
I liked the History Boys ~ but Ben HATED it! Go figure.
Posted: July 28th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Gorgeous, gorgeous gold! I love the color to bits. I’m so glad it all worked out!
Posted: July 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Ravelry to the rescue!! I too did not think it would be successful means to aid yarn shortages, but it is!!! can’t wait to see you scret knitting revealed!!!
Posted: July 29th, 2008 at 9:02 am
You had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what you would do! A standing ovation and wave to Tracy from the East Coast for saving the Tour!!! (the KAL part, that is). I love that you cycled over to pick up the yarn too. 🙂
Posted: July 29th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Oooh, it looks great (what we can see of it, at least)! Hooray for Ravelry (and for friends nearby enough that you can cycle to them for a swap). I can’t wait to see more of this sweater.