As promised (to myself), I waited to go back and visit the local yarn store (Yarn It!) after I had used the yarn I bought during my first visit to the store. Before I went, I researched a few crochet projects that I want to make, so this way, I had an idea about the yarn I would need. I have wanted to make myself a shawl to wear around the house when hubby has the AC cranking, and I also found a cute hat pattern (called the Rook Hat which is a free pattern on Ravelry) that required some unusual yarn, so I printed the instructions up for these and brought them with me.

For trip number 2, I felt a little better. At least I had a plan as far as what I was going to do with the yarn; however, I have to admit that I still feel out of my element. First of all, the pricing is hard to get used to, and I’m not saying the cost of the yarn is not worth it. I totally get that there is a world of difference between hand-dyed wool from Peru versus acrylic yarn from Michael’s. And I’m also not saying that the yarn store owner should put stuff on sale because I can only imagine her overhead and want to do what I can to make sure she keeps the doors open.

I’m saying that I’m used to buying the cheap stuff at JoAnn’s dot com when there is a 30% off sale and I have a promotion code for free shipping to boot. Even buying the cheap stuff, I am super frugal and rarely pay full price. It is just in my nature to try get some kind of sale on whatever it is I buy. So when you are used to buying skeins of yarn for $2.50 and you are shopping in a fancy yarn store where the least expensive skeins in the entire store are at best $6 each, well, it takes some mental adjusting.

The other issue that I’m tackling is learning about the different fibers and having a better understanding of them. Wool, for example, is not something you see much of in Florida. Seriously, I have just a few sweaters that I wear maybe one or two days a year, most of which are made from cotton. I have lots of cardigans because these are great for layering, and when you are in buildings where the AC is on full blast, you need those. But when I think of wool, I think of itchy, thick, and well, yucky, suffocating even. Of course, this is not the case for all wool.

I had prepared myself for a large purchase, which meant a large price tag, because I do not have time to drop by the shop that much. With one big project (the shawl) and one small project (the hat), I figured I would get a bunch of yarn that would keep me busy for a few months before I allowed myself another trip. In fact, this month I’m dedicating all my yarn time to making donation items, but March is going to be the “me” month, as in making stuff for me, myself, and I!

Here is the yarn I bought for the hat. Since Celeste does not buy yarn from China (which I think is kind of cool…good for her), she helped me find an alternative to Noro yarn that the pattern calls for. She had some of this worked up in a scarf, and it was GORGEOUS!

Then here is the yarn for the shawl, which, gulp, takes a lot of yarn! I ended up buying some of the same brand and color that I bought last time because I love it. In hind sight, maybe I should have at least gotten a different color, but I’m still attracted to the bright purple and think this will be a beautiful shawl.

Don’t even ask me how much money I spent. Let’s just say a lot. Hopefully, my crochet skills will do justice to my yarn purchase, and in a few months when I have completed these two projects and used up my fancy smancy yarn, I will make trip number 3.