Leslie Suzanne: Yarn Clubs

I went a little (ok a lot) crazy with yarn clubs this year. I really do love the thrill of getting something surprising in the mail...sometimes a challenging pattern, always a beautiful yarn. I want to review the ones I've joined so you can get a sense of what I like about them, what I think makes a club successful and what I'm planning to do with my club yarns in 2015...which is similar to what I was planning to do in 2014 but all the drama of 2014 got so in the way of yarn clubs!

Oh, and please don't judge about all the money I've spent on these clubs. It's been a tough year and I can only explain my indulgence as therapy...

-----

Vesper Sock Yarn Club: This is a 3 month subscription to Knitterly Things's Vesper Sock yarn. The colorways are specially dyed for the club and only available to club members. I hoard these skeins like the special things they are and pull them out from time to time to make a gorgeous pair of self-striping sock love. I've also woven a scarf with one skein and it has continued to get raves everywhere I go.

Madelinetosh Magnolia Club: I debated with myself about joining this club. I LOVE Tosh. The yarns we sell at JBW are spectacular. Knitting with Tosh is always amazing. The dyed colors are wonderful. So my logic was that with bases we don't carry in the shop and special colors, I would totally love the club. And the truth is I don't. I won't "up" again for the next one simply because it's been "eh"...don't get me wrong, the yarns are gorgeous, but while the yardage is generous it isn't generous enough to do something like a sweater, but is too much for a hat--and honestly, what does one do with extra skeins of yarn? I know...put them in stash and wait for them to "become something amazing"...but I don't need more stash and part of my exploration in the yarn club is to learn about yarn, and to learn about new patterns and techniques...Tosh didn't do it for me. (maybe I'll feel differently when the yarn does speak to me and tell me what it wants to be. I'll update you when that happens).

Cookie A Sock Club: I will do the Cookie A Sock club until she quits doing it. I'm just sad that I didn't start knitting early enough to be a part of it from the very very beginning. Every other month you get a skein of yarn and two Cookie A patterns that are only available to club members for one year (and then she sells them on Ravelry to anyone). The yarns are typically sourced from small dye companies and are specially dyed for her pattern. And they have always been gorgeous. Only once did I decide that the yarn needed to be something other than the socks that Cookie A decided that it should be (I'm making a Pretty Thing from it...and one day I'll get back to it because it truly is ideal for where I am in my life right now...cashmere neckie...). Back to the club, though. It's awesome, the Ravelry group is wonderful. I do love seeing all the works in progress and listening to people discuss the patterns, etc...and the patterns are genius. I will catch up on my socks from last year as I'm working through all the clubs from this year.

Rockin' Sock Club: I really debated whether I wanted to join the RSC this year and am glad that the sign ups were later than the others because I may have skipped it. I went ahead and joined because the yarn is always spectacular. Plus this is year 10 and Blue Moon promised amazing things! You get a skein of yarn every other month along with two patterns--one for a sock and one for an accessory. I've done the RSC for 3 full years (in other words this is my 4th venture into the club) so I have quite a pile of RSC yarns that will need to be knitted up in my "down time" but since 2015 is the year of the club I suspect that this will happen. My only complaint about the RSC is that the patterns aren't always to my taste. This isn't a huge problem as I'll find other patterns to work...but it can be disappointing as I want the full "club" experience.

Dragonfly Yarns Club: Dragonfly Yarns are truly special. I love every single skein that I've ever gotten from them. They're gorgeously dyed and the yarn is high quality. And in the one instance where I've gotten a bum skein, she was super nice about it. I kind of debated whether to join again this year because last year I really didn't like the patterns that came along with the yarn...I decided to do so on the simple fact that I have knitted something from every skein (or skeins) that came in last year except for the stuff that came in August and October and that was because I was in "transition" and hardly knew my name.

Among Friends: This was a total impulse buy...the Outlander Club. I was so excited by my first shipment that I'm anxiously awaiting my next! Time does not move fast enough right now! I'll report more fully when I've had more shipments, patterns, stitch markers and project bags to share, but my first one was amazing.

Finally: Miss Babs Knitting Tour: I haven't received my first shipment yet, but I'm really excited. There are 4 shipments, with accessories, yarn and patterns. Each shipment is themed based on a location...and since I love to travel AND I love to knit...this is wonderful. I'm totally stoked about getting these shipments and will report to you about them as I go.

-------------

It's a lot, I know. And I'm really excited about working on my projects as they come in. I've already completed 2 and started the 3rd (the pedestrian cowl from a month or so ago) and these two socks: