We have written a bit about "rules" for buying yarn, matching yarns to projects and ways to ensure you feel 100% solid after every purchase you make. Because buying yarn is fun right?
At Newbee Knitters we cannot stress enough the importance of raiding the sale bins at local yarn stores. You have nothing to lose by looking at the passed-overs, and more often than not, we've found legit gems. I mean, what is a yarn store to do when they're left with a few skeins of a spectacular yarn after sweater-quantity sales took the rest? If you're doing a small, simple project, the sale-yard field is truly wide open. Even for the pricey stuff.
Take for example, this cache of Serenity 100% cashmere by Anzula in colorway Jasmine.
This yarn is ... words cannot capture. It was found, 4 matching skeins, at the bottom of an actual barrel of clearance in a crazy-cute yarn store in Newtown PA, called Echo Valley Fiber. The owners were so kind, allowing me to dive deep into the barrel to make sure I snagged every last available skein. Now not all clearance is actually inexpensive... at $47 full price, even half-off put this score at $100 with tax. So I had to find a way to make it all worth it.
Which happened with the ultra simple statement shawl called Decadent Garden, by Emily Wood. Made on request for my daughter, this thing is a hug and a half, with a pop of color in a soft, sandwashed shade of jade.
The pattern is knit flat, which meant I needed to pay close attention to tension in stockinette (my purls are offensively uneven) so I used the combination knitting technique to stay honest. (See that explained here.) I'm showing the back of my gauge swatch to reveal the evenness of the rows, no guttering here!
I also found the lace really easy to do, ditching the pattern after just a few repeats with no problems. All of this made for a great TV knit, and who doesn't love one of those?
In the end, we're all pleased with the outcome of this super-simple-splurge-story, because the end result is really one of a kind. And did I go out and search for more Serenity on sale on the heels of this success? Yes. Yes I did. And I am not at all sorry.