Yarn Shop Bust and New Book Lust

I checked out the new (to me, anyway) yarn shop on Saturday and it was a bust.  Aside from having to drag Nathan with me—and carry his stroller up a set of steep interior stairs; wasn’t expecting that—it was a nice time.  The owner was friendly and helpful, but her selection of yarns wasn’t what I’d hoped for. 

I was just looking for a plain DK weight cotton or cotton blend for my Cherry Short-sleeved Cardigan (Ravelry link) in Modern Knits, Vintage Style, and most of her yarns seemed to be variegated or textured or the colors just didn’t work for what I’m making.  (You’ll see in most of my FOs that I don’t rely on flashy yarns for interest—although I’m not against them; instead, I choose simple yarns in interesting colors that allow the pattern to speak for itself.  I guess I see the artistry in the patterns moreso than in the yarns, even though there’s a lot of great yarn out there.)

But I do want to go back to that shop for more—the yarns she had were striking, and when I saw them I knew I wanted to someday find something to make them with.  But I know from my early knitting experience that it doesn’t make sense to start with the yarn and then choose a pattern.  So we’ll see whatever comes of it.  Plus, I’m a Knit Picks girl, and walking into a yarn shop full of beautiful brand-name yarn nearly gave me sticker shock.

Maybe I’ll make the Jacqueline Bouvier Stole (Ravelry link) from one of her laceweight yarns in a deep blue colorway that caught my eye.

Now here comes the problem: I have New Book Lust.  It’s Modern Knits, Vintage Style, edited by Kari Cornell.  I guess having New Book Lust isn’t a problem, but not having enough time—or yarn—to complete all the patterns you desperately want to cast on could be a problem.  I keep picking up the book, imagining the yarns I’d use and in what colors and trying to figure out who I’ll make them for.  I can’t keep my hands off this book!  The photos are beautiful and vintage-inspired and, coming from a book person (I’d never download and read e-Books or read books through a Kindle or similar device), the layout is really pleasing to look at.  And it's in hard cover.  I'm already impressed.

As you can probably guess by the title, the book is a compilation of patterns that were inspired by classic knits of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, termed the golden age of knitting.  The patterns look like they are interesting to knit (no boring patterns here, thank you) and create beautiful and inspired finished objects that hint at the stylings of the 30s, 40s and 50s.  The book even shows the original knits that inspired the updated patterns.

My other problem is that I don’t know who I’d gift some of the FOs to.  I can’t possibly knit them all for myself.  I mean, I wouldn’t.  Even if I saved them all to give as Christmas gifts, I just don’t know for whom I’d make them.  I don’t know anyone who wears stoles, but I do have a scarf-wearing friend who’d love this, Branching Out Scarf:

This is the sweater I want to knit for myself, Cherry Short-sleeved Cardigan:

Close up: I don’t want a variegated yarn for this one, even though the yarn shop lady tried to convince me you can see cables through variegated yarn.

I don’t know who I’ll knit the Jacqueline Bouvier stole for, but I guarantee I’ll knit it, and hopefully soon:

Maybe this will be my knitting superhero cape, Evening Capelet.

It even has a pattern for a seriously old-looking, kinda grandma-y pair of socks (oddly, in DK weight yarn).  Be still my beating heart!

I’ll write a proper review of the book once I’ve knitted several of its patterns.  Until I can start them, though, I’ll just have to suffer with my New Book Lust.