I Been Knotty

Just spent three hours on Joanne.com and made a big order of crochet thread. Big for me anyway. 13 new balls of thread. Each one different in color or style.

See I ran out of my favorite shade of blue several weeks ago. A bright turquoise called Parakeet. Ever since I'd been watching for another free shipping promo coupon in my email. Have received them twice before this week but they did not coordinate well with paydays until now. And then this one was only good for orders over $35. So even though I only really needed 3 or 4 of them at this time I splurged.

Nearly all are items I can't get in the stores the only exceptions being a couple of the bamboo thread colors but I ordered every pastel of the bamboo except for the blue I already have as I have a project in mind. Ever since I first worked with the bamboo a year ago I've had in mind making a baby blanket with it and was only waiting to learn of someone in my circle expecting. Just learned my niece is in March. So I ordered pink, green, yellow and lilac to go with the blue and white I already have. I can usually find all but the lilac in the stores though not always all of them at any one time. I'm sure I'm going to have to augment before the project is complete but there is time for that.

Besides the Parakeet blue there were two other size 10 solids: Aqua and Dusty Rose. I have seen none of the three in the stores and the last time I made a Joanne order I tried to order the aqua and dusty rose but they were out of stock so they were high on my list.

Another size 10 was a variegated in blues and purples much like the yarn the cat has in the LOLcat above. It is called Monet Multi.

I ordered a size 20 in black. Size 20 is a finer thread than the 10 and makes a lacier product. It is also more expensive and harder to find in stores. Also harder to find in colors other than neutrals. I hope to someday start collecting them in the entire rainbow but they are spendy at over $4 per ball and sometimes the ball is still less than 100 yards. This one was 400 yards for just under $5 so I splurged. I have several whites in 20 and 30 and 50 weight which came from my mom's or Ed's grandma's sewing stuffs and have been picturing how black would look in the various bookmark patterns.

Last summer I ordered as an experiment a variegated blues and purples called Caribbean in a Lizbeth Cordonnet Cotton and I absolutely LOVED it and have been really hankering to order more even though it is nearly $4 per ball and only 210 yards (compare to the size 10 bedspread weight at over 400 yards for under $3). But not only do I love the selection of bright variegated color combos, I adore the way this thread holds its shape. No blocking has been necessary even after the project has been practically wadded up in the bag or purse while under construction.

So no surprise that I was planning to put one more of the Lizbeth Cordonnet in my next order. I'd been planning one called Red Burst which is a blend of dark and bright reds. But since I still had room in my order when I reached that page and had already included all of the priorities, I went ahead and included two more--a bright turquoise solid and a turquoise vari called Turquoise Twist. That will make it possible to do one of the two toned patterns with a Lizbeth Cordonnet.

Do you get the idea I like turquoise?

Another experiment for this order was a Rayon thread which I'm curious about as it's texture is described as being appropriate for baby clothes. It is fairly spendy too but I've had my eye on one of it's variegated called Fairy Tale which looks to be several pastels..

So now I wait. 10 business days or so. Which means probably at least Wednesday of the week after next.

Then I have to figure out where to put them all. The two drawers I've been keeping my thread collection in were stuffed to the gils before I put together the three project bags several weeks ago--the vase mat/bookcover; and the two coaster sets. A forth bag, the wrist bag, holds two or three for bookmarks which I knock off in an hour or so and which have a high turnover rate with balls shuffling back and forth between bag and drawer. But the mat and coaster projects are commandeering 13 balls between them. One coaster set has colors in common with the vase mat so both of those projects are in the new craft bag I got for my birthday.

I'm on the last of the purple coasters so those four balls will be going back in the drawers soon. I could very well be done with the blues and white mat and the blues and browns coaster set by the time the Joanne order arrives. So where in the world am I going to put 13 more balls.

At least only 4 are the typical largish size. The Lizbeth are the size of a toddler's fist. The bamboo are the size of my fist and squishy. But the size 10 thread are the size of a man's fist. I find that tradition annoying as the thread is wrapped around a tube I can fit over my fist and slide up my arm. It is a ridiculous waste of space whether for shipping, storing or schlepping around while on the hook.