Janet picked me up at 11:20 and we drove over. Its super simple to get to from our neck of the woods and we were there and parked in a half hour. Lisa (isserlie) met us there too.
I'd heard that there was a line around the block just to get in on Saturday, so I was nervous that the place would be picked clean. There wasn't a line but it was crowded. Smiley's is way smaller than I'd thought it would be. For a name that includes the word "warehouse" I was expecting it to be large but it was smaller than your average craft store. The shelves were packed from top to bottom with yarn, which more than made up for the size. I'd made a list but forgot it. Doesn't matter though...I was so overwhelmed that it probably wouldn't have helped me much. Janet brought huge 99c bags for both of us and we shoved them full of yarn.
Nothing was more than $1.99, so I went nuts! I blew my yarn budget for the rest of the year, but got a lot of bang for my buck. This is what my purchases looked like in the bags.
Here it is spread out on the table. I bought alot of normal stuff like Red Heart soft and TLC. I also bought Bernat Silky soft, which I'd never heard of before, to make an Eagles afghan for hubby (more ass kissing).
I also got some great high end yarns that I would have never been able to afford otherwise. Most of them were Italian. Maybe you'll recognzie the names Angela? I bought 2 bags (20 balls) of Jaeger Roma which is an angora blend. Super soft! Its normally $9.99 a ball, so for the 2 bags, would have cost $200 at regular price. What a steal! I'm hoping to make the Butterscotch Cardigan from Interweave Crochet with the greyish color I bought.
I also bought some yarn called Cervinia which I'd never heard of before. It looked nice, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I also got 8 balls of 100% wool for felting projects.
I bought an L hook, which was the only size I was missing. Also...drum roll please...I bought a pair of knitting needles for $1. I'm going to try to teach myself soon. I have no clue about knitting needle sizes. I bought a size 10 because....well, I don't know. Any of you knitters have tips or a good resource for learning you can point me too?
I was exhausted from all the weekend excitement, so I decided to take today off. I brought Pi to school, since I enjoy doing that when I can. On my way back, my right ankle just gave out and I fell. Its sprained again. I had to call hubby to come get me and help me home. Nice way to spend the day off, eh? At least I sprained it close to home and not on the subway or in Manhattan.
For anyone who knows how badly I was hurt last year (pre-blog), knows that this is bad news. My ankle hasn't fully recovered from last year's injury even with physical therapy, so this new sprain is going to make things worse. Thank goodness this time doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as last year. I was out of work for a few weeks last year and definitely can't afford that this year. I'm going to take tomorrow off from work too and rest my ankle as much as possible, so I can try to make it back to work by Wednesday.
Never a boring day in Casa de Chris.
13 comments:
Wow! I'm totally jealous of all that yarn you got! If only Cleveland was closer to NYC, sigh...! That Butterscotch Cardigan is gorgeous - I can't wait to see what you come up with!
I have learn to knit DVD - Leisure Arts' "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting". I got it last year, but haven't used it yet. I've been meaning to give it a try since I'm not working and have too much extra time, but my DVD player on my computer went kaput, and the remote control for the DVD player on my TV has been gone for ages (I can't rewind, pause or anything without it). Oh well. I learned to crochet from the I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting DVD - it was an awesome DVD, so I imagine the knitting one will be just as good. Give it a try - you might even be able to find it at a library.
I'm sorry to hear about your ankle. What bad luck to hurt it twice! My wrist is still not all the way back to normal from when I broke it last year. Sometimes body parts like that, that are used frequently take forever to heal.
Ouch! Sorry about your ankle. Take it easy!
Now that I have wiped my keyboard from my drooling over your treasures, I can type properly! I am soooo jealous! You can't beat deals like that though.
As for knitting, I actually used the knittinghelp.com website. There are a lot of great videos on there, and you can learn either Continental or English. I am left-handed, and was totally clueless, but decided to go with English, which is probably the more complicated of the two methods, but I figured I could go easier if I really wanted to.
I have found that knitting needles in size 6, 7 and 8 are the most popular sizes. To get started, I recommend dishcloths. Good practice for learning stitches, and you can finish one project and move on to the next, and don't get bored. I joined the Yahoo Monthly Dishcloth KAL, and the weekly dishcloth KAL on Ravelry. Either one is really good.
Like with crocheting, once you get the basic stiches and can read the patterns, off you can go!
Have fun, and when you decide to learn, feel free to ask me questions. I might not know the answer, since I am still new to it, but it can be a learning experience for us both!
Oh so sorry to hear about your ankle! What rotten luck for it to happen on your day off. I guess you have lots of petting and hooking you can do while staying off your feet.
Thank you so much for sharing your pictures of your booty. I haven't gone shopping for so long it was nice to live vicariously through you.
I'm worried about your ankle it sounded bad from last year. Take care of yourself and prayers coming your way.
Good luck with the knitting hoping to learn soon one day.
Awww poor ankle hope it gets better soon. I so love Smiley. I need to order from there again one day. SO jealous of you and all that yarn.
Can't wait to see how your cardigan comes out. I will be cheering you on from here.
I totally love that yarn Cervinia that is the yarn I used to do my hair raps and I also sent Laura one. I so love that yarn so light weight for summer.:)
Good luck on your knitting. I can knit, and purl, case on but, yet to make anything. So slow for me:)
Good luck.
10 is a decent size to learn to knit on. Nice haul!
And are those big-ass snaps I spyed on your table too?
Hope your ankle feels better soon!
I, unfortunately, am not a fan of Smiley's. Too much acrylic in the store for me. :) Jaeger and Cervinia are good yarns though...I have some Cervinia in my stash.
As for learning to knit...of course you decide to learn just as I'm moving. :) Size 10 needles are good to learn on; I think that's what they teach on at the Point. Make sure you use a yarn that you don't mind messing up, and a light color so you can see stitch definition and your mistakes. Knittinghelp.com was a good site for me as well, as scouring a bunch of knitting books (Stitch n Bitch is good...or just hit the bookstore, pop a seat on the floor with needles and yarn and go thru the books. You want one with clear pictures and wording). Any questions, just email me...I can try to help you thru email. :) You'll enjoy the knitting.
OMG... enough said. Anony Joyce
PS, not the ankle again?? Oiy vay Chris. If you go back to work tom, manke sure you leave early to beak the crowds. Anony Joyce
WOW! drooooolllll!!!!!!!
That is an amazing steal!
Like the others, knittinghelp.com is great since they have videos. I learned from a book, but learning to cast on was really hard from sketches. I think the best way to learn is to have someone cast on and knit a few rows, so that you have a visual example to go from while knitting on the same swatch.
I nearly fell over when I saw all that yarn! You must be estatic! For the more expensive yarns espeically that is such a good deal. I'd be interested to see how the more expensive yarns turn out. I've heard of Jaeger before, but never seen it in person.
Hope the ankle feel better! That's no fun having an ongoing injury like that. Hopefully resting it will help. Have fun playing with all that yarn!
Teach Yourself Visually: Knitting
Bestest learnin' book ever! Clear photos and instructions. You just rest with your foot up and send hubby out to get it...he should be kissin' YOUR ass for that blanket!
You made a killing! I am so jealous, but happy for you. :-) I hope your ankle gets better soon, you can't afford to be away from work when there's more yarn to buy! :-)
Oooh that's a LOT of yarn! Congratulations on your haul. :>
Boo for resprain. :( Everything going to be okay?
<3
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