Red Heart Super Saver? Yeah, I used it. Lion Brand Homespun? I didn’t know that it should be killed with fire. Vanna’s choice? Yep, used that too. And quite honestly, it was because I didn’t know better. My first finished project was a scarf made from some yarn that Lion Brand makes and the scarf was over 16 feet long or something ridiculous because I didn’t know how to bind off.
Do you see? Do you see how long this scarf his? My poor boyfriend modeled the first scarf, told me I did such a great job, wore it all of once as part of a Halloween costume (he was the Hitcher from the Mighty Boosh) and stashed it in the back of our closet with the rest of the scarves I knit for him from when I was first starting to knit and all I could knit were scarves.
And I’m not exactly sure where I transitioned from not being picky about yarn to being a full on yarn snob but I am there. I can’t step foot into a Joann’s or Micheal’s and look at their yarn. I inevitably peek my head around the corner of the yarn aisles only to have my boyfriend tell me “Don’t bother. You know you’re not going to like anything down there anyway!” He’s right. I won’t.
“But the pretty colors make me think the yarn has potential!” I say to him. But he knows, and I know, that I’ll just be disappointed.
Lately I’ve been knitting a lot with At Knit’s End yarns by Kim Hartmann. She dyes her yarn with kool-aid. KOOL-AID!
And really, how can you go wrong with yarn that smells so good that you want to shove your nose into it? And I do shove my nose into it. Every. Single. Time. (See last post for proof!)
Miss Kim works with different fibers, BFL, Falkland, Merino, Silk, Cashmere… her yarns are yummy to the touch and to the nose. Which is why it makes it so incredibly easy for me to choose her yarn out of my stash for a project over, let’s say Madelinetosh. Don’t get me wrong, I have about four skeins of the beautiful, wonderful, Madelinetosh in my stash. But they sit there because how do you find the perfect project for such expensive yarn? Hmm? I can’t bear the thought of winding up such expensive yarn thinking I have the perfect project for it, and then messing up the project and the yarn. No thank you.
But if you look at my Ravelry projects, you’ll see that I go back and forth between using At Knit’s End yarns for a project and using a good standard Knit Picks yarn. Would I go back to using Red Heart? No. I’ve stocked up my stash too well for that. In fact, those yarns that I mentioned before, (the Red Heart, the Lion Brand, and the Vanna’s Choice) just sit in a box with other used skeins that I just can’t bear to get rid of because OH-MY-GOD what if I needed it for something???
Do you hoard your leftover yarn bits? Even the awful yarns that you hated using? Are you a yarn snob or are you a better human being than to judge a yarn like some of us do? These are the questions my little heart needs answers to!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I do believe there is a skein of yarn that needs my nose buried in it.
missviciousknits.wordpress.com 
Homespun is a big joke among my knit night friends. When each of us started to knit we were drawn to it like a moth to a flame (this is before we knew each other). As new knitters it was like the worst yarn to choose and a pain in the butt to knit with. But now as experienced knitters we don’t go near the stuff. My current stash is full of yummy, non-acrylic yarns. I enjoy following Kim (atknitsend) on twitter but have yet to stash some of her yarn. That has to change as your blog isn’t the first that I’ve heard of how awesome it is.
I SO get this! I went through a “foot sweater” phase several years back. Convinced myself I was knitting right proper socks despite the heinous discomfort of feeling every single knitted stitch with every inch of your feet… They looked like socks after all! Then I went into my dishcloth phase. I think I”m stocked for a solid decade or 2 to come… Then almost exactly 2 years ago to this very day, I discovered yarnvana at an actual, honest to god, KNITTING store. Who knew these glorious places existed and that there was yarn beyond the cramped aisles of Joanne’s & Michael’s? I do still cheat on my knitting store every rare once and again- some of the Kroy yarns will do when I feel cheap but need a new yarn fix, but, much like my fabric stash, my yarn stash will never revert to the cheap stuff even if it means I need to knit more slowly…
For now, I like to think I’m stocking up in case the hard times come and I have to go on a buying diet… Don’t want to knit too far into the stash for fear of running out during a financial crisis, right?
I totally have Fancy Yarn Performance Anxiety. A few years ago, my LYS did a special order with Lorna’s Laces and I bought four or five skeins of a gorgeous limited edition color called “Amy’s Vintage Office” which was inspired by the office of Knitty’s editor, all grey, black and a grogeous bright blue. Yeah, I’m terrified to knit anything with it. I feel like I have to find The Perfect Pattern, but nothing seems good enough.
As far as yarn snobbery goes, I was a huge elitist when I worked at my LYS. The 40% discount I got helped a lot. Now I’m much broker than I was, and so I’ve had to lower myself to shopping at Michael’s every once in a while, though I still try to get natural fibers, not acryclics. And yes, Knit Picks is my best friend, now that my finances are sad.
Great post!