11 June 2010

True confessions of a yarn sniffer

7 Small Shawls: T - 204 days and counting down.

Scents have always made a huge impression on me, so it's no surprise that I sniff my yarn. Ok, maybe it does surprise you a little, but really, it's a natural thing. ;) Particularly the silk yarns. I've been sniffing silk ever since I was a child and my mother used to sew with silk fabrics. To me, silk has a very distinctive silky smell and I love it! I say "to me" because of all the strange stares I've gotten from people - when they ask the fiber content of a yarn or fabric, I sniff it, and then I say "it smells like silk." Apparently, not everyone thinks that silk smells like anything special. Who knew?!

But I digress. One of my most favorite things is walking into Stitches West to help set up and smelling all the hand dyed yarns. It smells like vinegar and wool, and silk, and...yum! I just walk in the door, close my eyes and breathe deeply. Euphoria!

Right about now, you are probably wondering what the point is. Well, Lisa Souza sent me some of her cashmere/silk fingering weight yarn in Forbidden City. (Wanna see? Look!)
It's been sitting next to my computer while I'm working, and every now and then, a delicious silky aroma wafts by my nose. Mmmmmmm. This is truly a yarn for all the senses! Soft, beautiful and delicious all around.

Lisa's yarn wasn't the only one that came in the mail. Just look at these!

These are from Saffron Dyeworks. OMG. The colors! Even #1 Son, who is generally unimpressed by such things, was drooling over it!
The colors are New Moon and Swoop (the teal). They don't smell though. Well, maybe a teensy bit woolly, but that may be my imagination. :)

Thank you both so much ladies! These will look incredible knitted up into Small Shawls!

I also want to thank you all so much for your kind comments about Maia! I'm excited about getting her to my test knitters and then off to you for the next eBook installment! This was a super fun and simple knit, and I know you'll enjoy her as much as I did. Plus, Maia is designed so that you can enlarge her by simply repeating the second to last chart as many times as you wish. How about that?! :)

In other news, today I helped my friend Karen set up her tent for our local little spinning event: Spinner's Day on the Farm. I'm missing it this year to go to a swim meet. The meet started started today, and I was running around like a madwoman before taking off up north. I got a little knitting done on a small (but painfully slooooow) secret project and planned other small shawls in my head while I knit and timed swimmers. The meet lasts all Saturday and Sunday, so we'll see how much I can get done! I'm off now to vegetate a little. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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13 Comments:

Blogger Turtle said...

nice on the spinning event. Yes, your test knitters patiently await! :) Lol, i am so glad i am not the lone sniffer! When i worked in the spa hubby would laugh whenever i would be looking at new product as it had to pass the sniff factor. Even now, i sniff everything! (though it also is influenced by sensitive allergies to certain scents)

9:39 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

I can't WAIT to knit Maia, even if my handspun didn't work out! I think she appeals to me because of her lovely shape and recognizable motif; to me she doesn't look "old-fashioned" and I can actually see myself wearing her. I don't think "typical" shawls are me at all, so here's a plug for more designs in the ebook that are shaped and different than usual!

10:06 PM  
Anonymous plumbum said...

Oh, that Forbidden City is stunning!

Eagerly awaiting the test knit pattern for Maia here - any chance of an early indication of yarn requirements? I have to get all my yarn mail order, or spin it, neither of which aids timely test-knitting.

4:46 AM  
Blogger Ariane said...

I love the new yarn! Those colors are gorgeous!
Thank you for sharing it with us!

4:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm Debbie and I'm a yarn sniffer, too. :-)

6:14 AM  
Anonymous twinsetellen said...

Wait. Some knitters DON'T sniff their yarn???

(ah, lanolin, even a tiny bit rancid, takes me to a good place...)

6:56 AM  
Blogger Judy S. said...

People just send you yarn? How fun is that? They are beautiful, and I can't wait to see what you will do with them!

8:36 AM  
Blogger Linda said...

Romi, I too am a yarn sniffer! Thank you for encouraging us to come out of the closet.

8:43 AM  
Blogger Yarnhog said...

Silk absolutely has a distinctive smell, especially raw silk. Not everyone likes it. I do, but I was dyeing some raw silk in the kitchen one day and my whole family complained non-stop about the smell. I have one silk sweater I can't wear on really warm days because the heat really intensifies the smell. And yes, I do sniff yarn!

11:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Add me to the list of yarn sniffers--sometimes I get strange looks! I can't help myself!
Janet

2:24 PM  
Blogger Jeanne said...

I thought all knitters sniffed yarn? Especially silk! I love that oceany smell!

6:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The yarn is just wonderful...wish we had smell-o-computers.

I remember swim meets when it's miserably hot.I spent twelve years going to them and when it was hot, I really liked volunteering to be a timer. A spash from time to time was heaven!

8:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You will LOVE the Saffron Dyeworks yarn for lace. The Enya base is one of my all time favourites for stitch definition.

While I love the smell of silk I was drooling when you mentioned it was a cashmere silk blend. Divine!

Anna

7:06 AM  

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