Let's Riot...

...for yarn, that is.

Lately, my posts have been mostly about the stresses in my life. Which is sort of the point of this blog, but the main reason I started the journey into blogland, was to write about knitting... the thing that keeps me centered and relieves my stress.

Or at least provides me with a distraction so I can work through the emotionally charged issues of life one stitch at a time.

If my knitting could talk the censors would have a field day!

Well, this post happens to be about my other knitting related pleasure...

purchasing yarn!

Every year, for the last 3 years, I have made a two-hour train pilgrimage to New York City for the Manhattan Yarn Riot. It is held by a local yarn store every year, off-site from their Queens location, at a mid-town hotel.

I don't go crazy like some of the shoppers (mostly because Josh puts me on a tight budget), but if your looking to make a project that calls for a significant amount of yarn and you don't want to spend more than it would to buy the item in a store, then this is the place to go.

I saw one group of women wheeling in empty suitcases and another woman was dragging about 4 garbage bags filled to the brim out the door when I was checking out.

That certainly was a riot!

You could buy enough yarn for a man-size sweater for roughly $25-30 give or take. A lot of this is good quality yarn too! Mostly wools and wool blends, but there is usually a fair share of acrylic and other non-wool fiber to be had as well, if that is your preference. I tend to shop for the baby/kid/animal-fiber-allergic-sister-friendly yarns, but occasionally will pick up some wool for non-garment projects, like bags and other accessories.

In my early knitting days, the cheap acrylics were good for learning, but now that I actually know what I'm doing (or at least think I do!) I tend to be a little snobby about the fiber content. Unfortunately, that ups the price tag, but that is the price you pay for good results and satisfaction. If I am going to spend months working on something I want it to actually look and feel good and not wind up in the reject pile after I finish it.

The Yarn Riot is really a place where you stock up on bags of yarn for small to large projects at good prices. The sale is broken up into aisles by price, ranging from $6-$60. The higher priced bags tend to have more balls of yarn, so those tend to be the yarns best suited for larger projects like sweaters, etc. You don't really know exactly what you are going to get until you get there, but if you are flexible, you will come away happy.

Last year, I stuck mostly to the $6 a bag aisles because I had a lot of hat making to do. There are usually 3 skeins to a bag in these aisles-- ideal for smaller items-- so I also felt like the additions to my ever growing stash wouldn't be as big a commitment as, say, buying two bags of $30 yarn with ten balls of the same color yarn in each bag. Unless I had a specific project in mind, I would just end up with a lot of the same yarn rolling around in the closet getting in the way. Not a terrible thing, but not very practical!

I did also splurge and buy one of the $15 bags with this beautiful slubby, thick-thin yarn in a variegated orange, pink, red, and gold color. I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet, but the other yarn I purchased has been used, so all was not lost and the stash capacity did not suffer... too much.

This year was a different story. I actually went with a purpose and project in mind. I know, shocker!!

I received a book of knitted bag patterns for my birthday and I saw a very cool tote bag pattern that is knit with suede-like yarn. Well, I was going to buy it in the store, but it calls for FIVE different colors, so I researched the cost and decided to hold off since this small project was going to set me back over $40 and I was still working on another project, so I had time to mull over the cost. Or buy it cheaper! Well, low and behold, the yarn riot flier arrived in the mail and the exact yarn I needed was on sale. SCORE!

I do have to add though, that the yarn still cost me $40 dollars, but I got triple the amount I need. So I can use it for another project or sell it on ebay.

Seems reasonable to me!

Also, the yarn colors are limited, so I wasn't able to find a suitable fifth color, but with a little help from my sister and her yarn stash (yes, the illness runs in families) I found a very pretty variegated color that has all the other colors I purchased in it.

It must be fate...

I still have my sweater to complete, but I'm at the more than halfway point, so now that I have a new project to look forward to, I think it won't be long before I'm casting on once again.

Though, not quite as riotous as years past, I had a fantastic time! Not to mention, this trip gives me two days of me time! I can visit friends and family, sleep in, and shop.

This doesn't change the fact though, that today when I get off the train, I will be beyond happy to see the smiling faces of my husband and son who I missed terribly.

But I can't help that I still had fun!!!