February 02, 2007
Yarn Swap
Anyway, let's think back, shall we? Once upon a time, some local knitbloggers gathered, and brought yarn, and it was good. I invited all of the DC/MD/northern VA knitbloggers that I knew of, and they invited some others (sorry if we missed you - it wasn't on purpose, I swear!), and we wound up with 17 bloggers, wine, snacks, and yarn at my house for a night of fun.
Ever seen a bunch of impatient women? Pile a table high of yarn (yarn that's going to be up for grabs) and then make them wait for a while...
Can we just start the swap already?
And then there was the On Your Mark, Get Set...
GO!
Reach for it!
That's right, we had a yarn free-for-all. And I am pleased to say that there was absolutely no punching, biting, kicking, elbowing, hair-pulling, cursing (well, at least not during the swap), or really any bad behavior whatsoever. There was plenty of enabling, matching of colors, suggestions of patterns (can't figure out what you'll ever do with only 300 yds of a gorgeous wool/silk blend? pose the question theoretically to a room full of knitters, who see you eyeing said yarn with a covetous glance, and they'll come up with so many suggestions it will seem stupid not to take it!), and even some begging ("please take that lovely yarn - I want it to go to a good home!"). Everyone swore that they left with more than they brought, and yet the table was still covered with leftover skeins at the end of the night (seriously, how does that work?).
And never doubt that the knitters are a generous bunch. Well, after seeing the KWB totals, the Dulaan and Red Scarf project galleries, and other similar phenomena around blogland, I know that you're already convinced, but still. See, I told all of these lovely ladies that they could also bring "charity yarn" and I would collect it all and donate it. I expected a few skeins of Red Heart, but this is what I wound up with:
A rainbow of goodness!
Yes, Lolly, I put them in that order for you and Project Spectrum :). There's a lot of yarn there! There's a lot of good yarn there! There are going to be some very lucky kitties, chemo patients, nursing home inhabitants, Mongolian children, and who knows what else when the knitters get done with this yarn. And faced with all of that variety, I couldn't help myself, but I dove in and made a Rapunzel scarf:
Let down your hair!
If you haven't seen this before, it's based on one that was in the Anthropologie catalog last winter (and selling for $58.00, I might add) that is just yarn braided together. I cut a bunch of different yarns into about 8' lengths, tied them together on one end and braided away. The finished scarf is about 6.5' long, and I'm really hoping a college kid will like it, because I'm sending it to the Red Scarf project (just in time - they're packing up the boxes on the 5th!). For a bunch more examples, check here.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who came over for the fun evening. We had such a great time, we really need to do it more often (once a year just isn't enough!).
The attendees: me (OK, it was my house), my co-hostess Lara, Natalie, Carolina, Kelly, Ann, Joanna, Shannon, Heather, Lauren, Paula, Holly, Elspeth, Dani, Erin, Isel, and Aimee (no blog, but she co-runs a yarn store, so we'll give her a bye). Thanks again to everyone for coming!
Posted by Sarah at February 2, 2007 12:00 AM | in: events | PermalinkThank you so much for doing this Sarah. I had a wonderful time, met some great people, and came home with some lovely yarn. What more can you ask for? :D
Posted by: isel on February 2, 2007 12:19 AMthat looks like great fun! We have so many knitter bloggers here in Boston, we should do this!
Posted by: maya on February 2, 2007 09:03 AMsecond annual yarn swap was Awesome!
already looking forward to the third!
Thanks to you and Lara for being such great hostesses...it was a fabulously fun evening!
Posted by: heather on February 2, 2007 09:31 AMThanks for being such a fantastic hostess and sharing your house with all of us. Where oh where will all the charity yarn go? That's an amazing amount!
Posted by: natalie on February 2, 2007 10:12 AMWow!! What fun. I'll have to get in on that action next time. :)
Posted by: Suzanne on February 2, 2007 10:13 AMThanks again for the invite - I had such a wonderful time!
Posted by: dani on February 2, 2007 10:17 AMOh, it was fun! Thanks for hosting the shindig, girl! Love the arrangement of the charity yarn ;) I recognize a lot of the skeins I brought.
Best wishes~
Posted by: Lolly on February 2, 2007 07:23 PMThat looks like so much fun! I'm glad everyone had a good time.
Posted by: Stephanie on February 3, 2007 08:39 AMForgot to mention that I love your Rapunzel version - I have made two of those too and gave one as a gift. They are so fun! :)
Posted by: Lolly on February 3, 2007 09:10 AM