Real wool!

I have real wool! ...or at least I will in a few days.

I went to a LYS for my second time ever and was very satisfied with this shop. Lots of yarn and quite friendly & educated staff. Apparently brown isn't a very popular color, but she pulled out pretty much every skein of brown they had. But that wasn't enough so she pulled out books and such containing samples of yarn that could be ordered. Just like that. Crazy!

Since there wasn't enough yarn of any type for a sweater (6 skeins), I did end up ordering. Cascade... something or other (bulky? 109 or 128?) in a lighter brown than most of the others that she showed me. It was by the yellows on the card instead of the rest of the neutrals, but didn't look too much like a gross brown color. I had a goldish brown in mind anyway for Cherie Amour.

I'm still worried about getting the right sized needles since I'd like it to fit, making gauge important. When I said I needed needles too, she found the recommended ones and stashed them away for when I come back for the yarn. I have no idea if I'll need the recommended sizes, but I thought that was really sweet of her so I didn't want to say anything. I've gotten a lot better since high school, but I'm still quite shy.

Since I went in with the pattern in mind and showed it to her, she quickly jumped on Ravelry to find what others used for it. Still shy, I didn't ask what her username is, but I was able to find the group for her store! lol. I'll keep an eye on the boards and hope that anything special that goes on in the store takes place on a weekend since work is taking up more and more time during the week.

But back on topic, probably by this time next week, I'll have 6 skeins of wool ready and waiting for me to begin my first sweater! I'm still getting over the fact that it'll cost twice as much as my synthetic ones ($42 just for yarn), but the warmth factor should make it worth the splurge. Just think--an article of clothing that will actually keep me warm (if I completely ignore the fact that it's lacy, lol). That kind of logic, plus the beautiful examples I've seen on Ravelry are inducing an urge to knit socks. But that will be a contemplation for another day.