Or in this case, "Which came first, the yarn addiction or the knitting addiction?" Am I a knitting addict who became addicted to yarn or am I a yarn addict who became addicted to knitting? My favorite columnist, Jocelyn Brown of The Detroit News and the weekly column Handmade, recently wrote a column called "Yarn Diet May Be Just What Doctor Orders."  It really got me to thinking, "Which one was I addicted to first: knitting or yarn?"  In my very first post in Knitting: A Love Story I said, "My heart races with excitement at the thought of it.  I catch myself thinking about it though out the day. When I think about it I smile.  Even when it's boring, even when it's hard, I can't imagine not having knitting in my life.  If that's not love, I don't know what is?"  I used to think yarn was just something you needed to knit.  That was before today's scrumptious, glorious yarns were born.  You could really substitute "yarn" for "knitting" in my original quote and that would be perfectly true.  I also think you could substitute "addiction" for 'love."   

Knitting is the magic and yarn is the bunny in the magic trick.  Knitting is the cooking skills and yarn is the ingredients in making a cake.  Knitting is the gardening and yarn is the plants in the garden.  Knitting is the. . . well, you get the message.  One would think that knitting cannot exist without yarn and yarn cannot exist without knitting.  That was true until I became a Yarn Collector.  Now there is a purpose for acquiring yarn other than knitting.  I acquire yarn just to touch it, look at it, drool over it and have it.  

I purchase yarn so I can knit but I also purchase yarn for yarn's sake.  I'd like to share with you Jocelyn's thoughts on yarn addiction.  Jocelyn admits to being a yarnaholic "having a love affair with luscious fibers."  Isn't that the most perfect phrase.  I'd love to share with you Jocelyn's criteria for being a yarnaholic.  You may want to see how each fits with you.  

This is beautiful, amazing Jocelyn and this is a picture I took at the first Detroit News Knitting Experience.  

"A yarnaholic is someone who has at least two stashes of yarn, but only one the family knows about."

You remember my wondrous Stash Studio, don't you?  It is my pride and joy.  But I've discovered how to hide yarn in plain sight.

If the Stash Studio is in disarray, the growing stash is hidden in plain sight.  Smart, huh?  I must admit I have "staging areas" for yarn  before it goes to the Stash Studio but they're not hidden from Dick. So, I may not quite fit this criteria.

"A yarnaholic believes fiber is good for one's well-being and, therefore, has no problem spending grocery money on yarn."  

Well, so simple and obvious but I never thought about it this way before.  Thank you, Jocelyn.

​"A yarnaholic has a close friend who often says, 'You have yarn on the brain!' (OK--I don't see the problem.)"  

If you choose to have friends who are equally addicted to yarn and knitting as you are, you will never hear that comment and will never have to feel a brief "Is there something wrong with me?" feeling.  This is my knitting buddy and friend extraordinaire Linda Kaufman.  Linda would never saying anything so judgmental to me.  

This is my co-addicted friend, Thea, who is also addicted to both yarn and knitting.  Thea would never question the size of my yarn stash!

So, I don't fit this criteria because I only reveal the size of my stash to like-addicted people.  

​"A yarnaholic can always find a place to store or hide more yarn."

I refer you back to the first criteria.

"If a yarnaholic had a boatload of fine yarns, chances are he/she could still find at least one more must-have skein to add to the stash." 

Absolutely, spot-on, correct!  Well, of course!  I not only fit this criteria, I am this criteria.

"The yarnaholic doesn't believe there's such a thing as having too much yarn."

I think this says it all.  I fit this criteria so well, I shouldn't have to comment.

"A yarnaholic relates well with other yarnaholics."

We relate it, we get it, we bond.  This is a picture of the first Detroit News Knitting Experience and the wonderful women I met there.  We all got it.  Jocelyn had each of us bring a skein of yarn from our stash and trade.  That was so fun.

"A yarnaholic feels the sudden need to run to the nearest yarn shop when writing a yarn-related column. (I'll be back shortly.)"

The subtle difference between my addiction and the yarnaholic criteria, is that my addiction is much more physical.  If I don't knit every day, I feel out of sorts.  If I see a new fiber or new colorway or type of yarn of yarn, I feel physically excited.  I can feel my heart race and my respiration increase.  I am compelled to make if part of my yarn collection.  if I discover that a yarn or a colorway is going to be discontinued, I feel anxious.  That sounds like withdrawal which is a definite sign of addiction.  Therefore, I experience several of Jocelyn's criteria and more.  

Wasn't "Yarn Diet May Be Just What Doctor Orders" the best column ever!?!?!?! And it was only half.  Part 2 talks about the Yarn (Lover's) Diet. Now I don't know about you but I'm really not ready to go on a Yarn Diet.  I will share the Yarn (Lover's) Diet in my next post in case some of you are ready.  Maybe it was a New Year's Resolution to buy less yarn which translates into go on a Yarn (Lover's) Diet.      

Through out January and February, I searched for a knitting project which would put energy into my needles.  I finally found something in the 10 Stitch Zigzag Afghan, but I found something else also.  I was in the Stash Studio and picked up Close To You done in Twisted Fiber Arts Lucky Penny.  Remember that?

Then I thought of my dear friend Barb Foor who had taken my Mom to the ER while we were at the Coastal Condo.

That's Barb in the center with the red hair.  Look at Barb then look at Close To You.  Doesn't it look like I knit it for her!?!?!?!  I decided Close To You had to be for Barb and all of a sudden realized why I hadn't been able to give it away for Christmas.  There was something more important in store for it.  

It looks better on Barb than Lydia but you get the idea.  I've been wanting to knit something for Barb because I've knit things for Kay and Sally (the other two friends in the selfie) and thought Barb should have something, too.  After I made the decision to give Close To You to Barb, I thought of Mary Lou, my other friend who looked out for Mom while we were at the Coastal Condo.  I wanted to find something perfect for her, and I did.

Mary Lou is a master quilter.  Doesn't this look like a glorious quilt!?!?!  I remember working on this in the car.  It was perfect car knitting.  It is made from Noro Kureyon using many different colorways.  The beauty of Kureyon is, you could knit from the inside and out from one ball and get a remarkable color change for each rectangle.  Or you could use two different colorways.  You were always working on rectangles which were small enough to be the perfect travel knitting.  When I was done, I gave it to Mom for Christmas the first year she lived in her Brookdale apartment.  It looked beautiful on her couch. When I was trying to find the perfect treasure for Mary Lou, it became obvious this was it.  Mary Lou always visited Mom when we were away and I knew Mom would love her to have it.  First Barb then Mary Lou, giving away treasures felt great and made me smile.  

I had one more person I wanted to thank for their kindness and that was Mary Fox who is our neighbor at the Coastal Condo.  Mary has been amazing since we first moved in.  She has introduced us to people, helped us find bridge groups and shared her cell phone with Dick when I was in Michigan and Dick's cell had a nervous breakdown.  Once again, I had the perfect thing waiting in the Stash Studio.

This is one of my favorite things to knit, the Olga Jazzy pleated scarf.  I have knit so many of these that I really can't count.  The yarn is Blue Herron and has a little sparkle to it.  This was perfect because Mary has a little sparkle to her.  

See the sparkle?  I love Blue Herron.  Would you believe I have a tub of Blue Herron just waiting for the next project?  Once I find a yarn I love, sometimes I go a little over board.  What if I find the perfect pattern for Blue Herron but it is discontinued and I can't get any more??????  You've heard about my phobia over discontinued yarn many times.  

My learning in all of this is:  knitting feels great but sometimes giving treasures away feels even better.  Giving these treasures away were just what the doctor ordered.  It did boost my spirits.

All last week we were bombarded by weather notices from all sources warning of a snow storm coming early Friday morning.  Well, it started at 2:00 a.m. so I guess that counts as really early.  We had tickets with my friend Barb Tinsler to see Beautiful in Toledo, so we were a little nervous it might come early.  We got out of the Stranahan at about 10:00 and there was nothing.  We safely arrived home and awoke to this.  Oh, by the way, Beautiful was beautiful.  If you haven't seen it and you're of a certain age, see it.  It is a huge step back into your adolescence.  A night of nostalgia.  There was a steady snow all day Friday but that was ok because we had made an emergency trip to the grocery and had plenty of food.  Thanks to the Stash Studio, I had plenty of yarn.  

I started the amazing Chrystal Falls during the brief time I was at the Coastal Condo.  For comfort after Mom's illness, I left Crystal Falls and finished 10 Stitch Zigzag Afghan.  I decided it would be Crystal Falls while being house bound.  I love this picture and the Kauni it's made from.  You would think I would be a happy girl.  The cast-on was a 415 stitch I-cord cast-on, tedious to say the least.  It took forever.  Once the cast-on was finished, I decided it would be all down hill from there.  There is something mind-numbing about a 415 stitch row.  See that part of the scarf that looks like little dashes?  The scarf is totally mosaic or slip stitch. I usually love that but the 36 rows were done with slipping four stitches.  It is so time consuming to make sure you haven't made your carry yarn too tight or too loose.  I think I got 6 rows done and asked the questions, "Are you having fun? Is this bring you joy? Does this feel like 'want to' knitting?"  The answer to all of those questions was "NO" so I slipped back into My Year Of Selfish Knitting mode and said ENOUGH!  Luckily while Kathy and I were here together during Mom's hospital stay, I received Vogue Knitting.  It wasn't a pattern from the magazine (more on that in a future blog) but an advertisement that caught my eye.

This is Euphoric which can be found in the Universal Yarn ebook called Happy Sock Shawls.  I immediately fell in love with it and ordered this exact Wisdom Yarns Pix in Techno.  I decided this was what I  wanted to knit.  The problem was I had neglected to order black sock yarn.  This problem called for a trip to the Stash Studio where I found Ultra Alpaca Lite in black.  IT WAS PERFECT!  The alpaca made it have a little plumpness which looks great.  It is an 18 row pattern with some fun twists.  I tried three bind-off/cast-on combinations for where you see the little holes until I found one I thought was perfect.  The Cable Cast-on left a little hole I didn't like.  The Loop Cast-on didn't always look the same.  But the Knitted Cast-on was just right!  (I can hear the three bears in my head.)  I have three complete patterns done and I must say, I really love this scarf.  The Pix raises my spirits just looking at it and then when the colors change it makes me smile.  I think this was just what I was looking for.

It has finally stopped snowing but the snow hasn't receded.  It is still there and still plentiful.  But I did have an enjoyable weekend of reading, drinking coffee, drinking wine, trying new recipes and of course knitting.  I am so glad My Year Of Selfish Knitting intervened.  Frustration turned into excitement thanks to a change in project. If you live in a place where snow some times shuts things down, you know the peaceful enjoyment of knitting while house bound.  If you don't, I would suggest you close your blinds, put on the coffee pot, uncork a bottle of wine and bring out the knitting.  Picture in your mind there is 12 inches of snow outside then pretend you are snow bound.  It is one of the most relaxing days you will ever experience.

It feels good to have the energy and feel creative enough to come back to Knitting: A Love Story.  I may need to knock a little rust off so bare with me.  

I had so many stories I was planning to tell you from the Coastal Condo in January.  So let's get started.

My plans were to spend a lot of time at my home away from home Knit 'N Purl in Myrtle Beach.  I planned on taking classes, social knitting at the big table and just touching every gorgeous skein of yarn in the shop.  Knit 'N Purl has a new owner and I wanted to be hospitable and supportive.  I was really only at the condo from December 26 to January 4 so you might think I didn't have enough time to visit.  Well, you would be wrong.  

The first thing I wanted to do was buy the perfect yarn to knit Stephen West's Doodler.  I was disappointed to see my favorite, new, edgy designer was going to be at the Black Mountain Yarn Shop in (where else) Black Mountain, NC and I was going to miss him.  Some day.  The first time I visited Knit 'N Purl that was my mission, perfect yarn for the Doodler.  Magic Molly was there and we spent quite a while picking out a main color, then complementary colors, then another main color and more complementary colors.  I realized on that day, Wednesday, December 28 that combining colors is one of my very favor things things to do.  Because I have been so addicted to gradient and ombre yarns, I have missed creating my own color combinations.  In case you have forgotten, this is Molly.

I love walking into Knit 'N Purl and hearing her voice say, "Well, look who's her."  Molly is my favorite LYS Guide.  I just made up that title.  I have been pondering, "What is my role at Ann's By Design?"  I decided I wanted to be a Guide for the knitters who come in.  I want to help them explore new yarns and techniques.  Molly is that and more.  We spent a good 30-40 minutes EXPLORING the appropriate yarn weight, not limiting ourselves to one company but mixing and blending looking for the perfect combination.  Please notice that I didn't "matching."  I think you loose the magic of color when matching is the goal.  You discard colors before you've even considered them.  If people would have been listening to us, they would have heard a lot of "what about this," "oh, beautiful" and "I never would have thought of that."  I don't know about Molly, but I had a ball.  The time I spent in Knit 'N Purl is my happiest January memory.  I needed three colors and this is what we came up with. . .

This was a total surprise to me because I'm not much of a beige person but there it was the three perfect yarns to make my rendition of Doodler. I think that is one of the great things about Doodler. Each yarn combination makes it unique and totally yours.  Of course, this was not the only yarn I purchased that day.

Once again, I get weak in the knees when I see a knitted sample.  This amazing ombre was used in a pattern called Radiant Gradient.  It is a Ravelry pattern.  

​January 2, I went back to Knit 'N Purl for a class.  My plan was to take several classes during our month at the Coastal Condo.  The first class was an introductory class on Knit Companion.  My teacher was Kathleen Libbey and she was fabulous.  A person who is both an experienced knitter and a technology consultant.  She immediately became my idol, the person I aspire to be.  WOW! What a store house of knowledge!  Knit Companion is an ap that you load patterns into that helps you do many wonderful things.  It keeps track of rows, reminds you when to increase or decrease and many other wondrous things.  It does away with that horrible problem of your sticky note falling off your pattern when you are using it to count rows.  I've had a love affair with sticky notes for a very long time.  I almost felt like I was being unfaithful to a mate to try something else.  Kathleen made anything seem possible.

January 2017 when we were in Sunset Beach, I started this spectacular double knit scarf.  I was so excited.  For obvious reasons, I couldn't knit it in the car on the way home, so I put it and the pattern with a sticky note in a zip lock bag for the ride home.  A few weeks after we returned home I got out my beautiful Paralax scarf.  EEEKS! The sticky note had fallen off the pattern and I didn't have a clue what row I was on.  I counted stitches on the scarf, then counted stitches on the pattern, then stitches on the scarf again.  Nothing I did reconciled the two.  My Paralx scarf after 13 months still looks pretty much like this.

As Kathleen talked about Knit Companion, I couldn't help but think of the Paralax scarf and how it would have been saved if only I had loaded the pattern into Knit Companion.  

Class was fun and I could really see the benefits of Knit Companion.  As a matter of fact, I was planning on attending 2 follow up classes.  Then I went home and my Mom got sick that night.

I would encourage those of you who are brave and/or tech savvy to consider Knit Companion.  As for me, I think too much time has gone by for me to be able to download a pattern.  There is one other thing.  I am so excited to get started at the beginning of a project!  I almost never do a 4 inch by 4 inch gage swatch.  I do enough to feel ok about my gage and that is it.  I am always raring to go and get the yarn on the needles and start knitting.  OK, really!  Does that sound like the kind of person who would take all of the time necessary to download and set up a pattern.  I think I am perfectly happy with my paper pattern and my sticky note.  If the note falls off, it will just provide me with a challenge and a great story.  

​I did buy a little more yarn at Knit 'N Purl. 

Aren't they beautiful!  If you are ever in the Myrtle Beach area, please stop at my home away from home Knit "N Purl.  Tell them Jan from Knitting: A Love Story sent you.  If you're going to be there for a few days, sign up for one of their fabulous classes.  I think I will take my 2018 plans for Knit 'N Purl and move them to 2019.