Yarn out, yarn in

In January I got the bug - the kind that makes you purge and reorganize. It's common enough in the new year, new beginnings and all that. My closet got it, my kitchen, and *gasp* even my craft room. All in all, the crafts got more of a reorganization than a purge, but I did manage to get rid of some yarn.

Since I've been knitting more and more, I've taken to planning a queue of projects and getting bogged down by my somewhat disorganized yarn stash. I decided to take all the yarn out of my cabinet and put back only what I thought I would use. The rest, mainly partial or extra skeins from other projects or yarn I bought a long while ago and haven't touched since, went into a shopping bag for donation. It took me some time to find a good place to donate believe it or not. One place based in Chicago I really wanted to send off to (they make scarves for the homeless -- it's COLD in Chicago!) only wanted full skeins. Bummer. I managed to find a woman from across the Bay who was willing to meet me at a coffee shop nearby to take my bag of yarn off my hands. The yarn will go to women in a group at her church who knit and crochet for charity. It was fun to meet her and chat a little bit over coffee before going our separate ways. It felt rewarding and satisfying to hand over some perfectly nice yarns to a group who obviously would appreciate them. I'm sure they are doing more good now than they were sitting in my cabinet.

Of course this also called for a visit to the local yarn store.... I wanted to go pick up enough Malabrigo Silky Merino to make a shawl since I liked how Lisa's scarf turned out so much. I was hoping to get a pretty dove gray color, but of course what is in the store is always different that what you may see online. I ended up with this fantastic green sherbet color called Dill. It screams spring, and the sheen of the silk in the yarn really stands out compared to some of the more complex colorways available.

I have also been bumming around Ravelry and liking a lot of striped projects I've been seeing, but most of these are done in yarns that are lighter weight than what I have stashed. Sooooo a quick buzz by the sock yarn led to these beauties: Malabrigo Sock in Fresco Y Seco and Lettuce. I haven't decided which of the stripey projects they'll become yet but I do think the two colors look lovely together and I've got a couple ideas.

Hmmm.... I think maybe I've had enough of winter and am ready for Spring? For whatever reason green has really been catching my eye lately.  (Thanks Mom, I'm treating myself!)