One of the absolute highlights of my trip to Portland, OR for the Knit & Crochet Show was swinging by a little tucked-away shop called Yarnia. I had first learned of Yarnia when a certain crochet dude (aka The Crochet Dude) told me that it was a must-see while I was there.

The basic concept…ok, the ONLY concept of Yarnia is that you are able to pick fibers of your choice and then have them brought together to create your own custom yarn.

When you walk in you feel like you are in a fiber wonderland. Even though it’s a small space, you are overwhelmed by the choices. Cotton, hemp, wool, silk, acrylic…it just keeps going. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

I knew the only way I was going to get through this was to enlist the help of the store owner. Having guided many an over-excited hand, she was more than happy to explain the layout of the fibers, hints and suggestions for getting exactly what I wanted. No I just needed to figure out exactly what I wanted.

After, what seemed like days, of matching, re-matching, miss-matching, over-matching and de-matching, the choice was finally made, which should result in a one-of-a-kind, double knit weight yarn that was destined to be something as yet unknown.

Then the fun begins. Your choices are threaded into this little beast of a machine (we were so trying to come up with a nickname for it based on Narnia, but failed miserably when we realized we couldn’t remember any of the characters from the movie).

With a flip of a switch, the little beast goes into action and you stand mesmerized as your choices become your creation.

If you ever find yourself in Portland (and who wouldn’t want to find themselves in Portland), hop across the river and spend a cappuccino or two over at Yarna (bring your own cappuccino…but you’ll thank me, the store begs to have you sit in the rocking chair, sipping a cappuccino while your yarn is made). If you can’t make it to Portland, at least grab a cup of coffee and go to their online store.

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Just when we need sale prices the most, I realized that it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted the Weekly Bargains.

Each week I search the Internet for the best bargains I can find in yarn, fiber and other crochet/knit related items. If you know of a good bargain this week please comment and tell us about it.

Annie’s Attic

Annie’s Attic has a wonderful selection of clearance pattern books for crochet, knit and much more. Some of my favorite crochet clearances are:

Teddy Bears to Treasure $2.95 (Reg. $9.95) Way cute bears.

By the Sea Pillows $3.95 (Reg. $5.95) Very cool raised details of starfish, seahorses and more.

Paradise Fibers 

White Cashmere Top-Roving $14.95/oz (Reg. $25.00/oz)

Magic Garden Allsorts 8 Ply $3.50 (Reg. $6.95) 70% Pure NZ Wool 30% Polyester Effect.

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Last week I was excited to share my find of the Martha’s Vineyard CSA (Community-supported Agriculture), a program in which you invest in “shares” of the farms flock in return for a percentage of the fiber harvest.

As I was browsing my post about the Local Harvest website (yes, I browse my own blog) I came across a second fiber CSA, Willow Ridge Farms located in Iowa. Not only can you purchase many fiber related products from their Local Harvest store, but you can also buy into their CSA program.

Willow Ridge Farms offers four levels of investing, Full Yarn Share, Half Yarn Share, Full Roving Share and Half Roving Share. Full and half shares are delivered every six to eight weeks and will contain three pounds of roving or up to 1,800 yards of handspun yarn from their flock of Shetland Sheep. What’s really cool is that prior to each shipment you will receive an email with color choices ranging from hand painted or dyed to natural shades.

I’m really starting to dig these fiber CSA programs. I hope more farms get on board.

I just received my e-newsletter from One Planet Yarn and Fiber and they have three incredible January special offers. You can choose from one of the following coupon codes and they are valid until January 31, 2009.

1. 10% off all orders over $48.00 (this includes anything on the site except for “LaLana Kits”). Coupon Code: Jan10

2. Free shipping on all orders over $48.00. Coupon Code: JanShip

Or (the best of all as far as I’m concerned)

3. Inventory Clearance. Take 20% off all items in the “On Sale Now” section. Coupon Code: JANSALE

Why am I so excited about the third option? Because there are some awesome deals available. These are some of the same bargains that I list in my Weekly Bargains posts and now slash an additional 20% off!

Example: There is some very cool Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed available for $7.70 that is regularly priced at $8.95. Pop in the Coupon Code and BAM! $6.16 baby.

Ever since high school I’ve had an interest in investing; more specifically investing in the stock market. Last year, twenty years after high school <deep sigh>, I finally opened my first investment account with Share Builder. I feel a deep acid-reflexed privilege to have started my investing dream just as the economy tanked <deeper sigh>. Despite the fact that my portfolio is down (way down) I still have the investment bug. But it’s a more environmently-friendly bug these days.

One of my philosophies with investing, as it is with any purchase, is “Buy what you love.” The problem is that sometimes there is no means in which to invest in the products you are most passionate about. Wool and cotton are both traded as commodities, but I struggle with investing in large corporations that over work our natural resources. And how often would I really see any return on my investment? Especially since I invest in such small amounts.

Today, I was so excited to learn about fiber community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs. In short CSA is a method for small-scale commercial farmers and gardeners to help increase the quality of their production and care given to their land, plants and animals while substantially reducing the financial risk by selling shares of their crops or flocks to the public.

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Each week I search the Internet for the best yarn at the best bargains. If you know of a good bargain this week please comment and tell us about it.

Midnightsky Fibers

There’s a sale link and prices, but they don’t show what the orginal prices were or how much you are saving. Unless it changes, this will be the last week for them.

California Yarn Company

Adrienne Vittadini yarn close out. 40% off while quantities last. (see Web’s below for 50% off select Adrienne Vittadini yarns)

Artful Yarns: Virtue $120/bag (10 balls) (Reg. $18.95/ball) 100% Cashmere. Three nom-nom colors left.

Artful Yarns: Fragrance $50/bag (10 balls) (Reg. 8.50/ball) 50% Wool 30% Viscose 20% Alpaca. All colors available.

…and many more.

Annie’s Attic

Annie’s Attic has a wonderful selection of clearance pattern books for crochet, knit and much more. Some of my favorite crochet clearances are:

Pumpkin Galore Afghan & Pillow Pattern Pack $5.95 (Reg. $7.95)

101 Granny Squares $13.97 (Reg. $24.95) I know. I know. Granny Squares. But I have this book and there’s some pretty cool things in here. Though I wish I got it when it was on sale. <sigh>

Paradise Fibers 

Magic Garden Allsorts 8ply Yarn $3.50 (Reg. 6.95) 70% NZ wool 30% Polyester Effect

Recycled Multicolor Sari Silk Yarn from India $6.95 (Reg. $10.95) 100% recycled silk. Awesome deal and eco-friendly.

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After I discovered that there are yarns out there other than acrylic, it was a natural evolutionary step to wonder about eco-friendly yarns. Not that I think my little acrylic yarn stash was in any way responsible for global warming, I just couldn’t help wanting to grow-up a little in this age of environmental-responsibility awareness. So I went forth on a quest to find yarn stores and manufacturers that were themselves environmentally aware or at least offered eco-friendly alternatives. What I found was so much more.

As I compiled my list of online eco-friendly resources and stumbled (as much as one can stumble on the Internet) across Hanna Breetz and her site The Green Knitter¹. This site is a wildlife preserve in the fiber forest. The Green Knitter is packed with valuable information on the world for organic and eco-friendly yarns.

While exploring The Green Knitter you will find detailed explanations of each green buzz word (e.g. Sustainable, Natural, Organic, etc.). She then explains our fiber options (Animal and Plant) and the manufacturing process for each one. Her thoughts on bamboo gave me a new perspective on eco-friendly.

What I applaud her for is her Yarn Chart. An invaluable resource for anyone wanted to know what yarn options are available and plenty of information to make informed choices. It lists yarn manufacturers, brand name, fiber and processes used on those yarns. You can even find which yarns are considered vegan. Amazing!

If I had an award to give for being eco-awesome Hanna would get it hands down.

Not to let my own research go to waste, I’ve created an Eco-Friendly Resources page in the navigation section listing online companies that offer organic and eco-friendly yarn and crochet/knit resources.

1. I know. I know. Knitters rule the fiber world. I get it.

If you know of a good bargain this week please comment and tell us about it.

Midnightsky Fibers

From what I can tell most of their yarn is 40% off right now. Handspun, Dyed, Sock

California Yarn Company

Adrienne Vittadini yarn close out. 40% off while quantities last.

End of dyelot sale. Artful Yarns and Reynolds $1-$3 each.

Annie’s Attic

Annie’s Attic has a wonderful selection of clearance pattern books for crochet, knit and much more. Some of my favorite crochet clearances are:

Pumpkin Galore Afghan & Pillow Pattern Pack $5.95 (Reg. $7.95)

101 Granny Squares $13.97 (Reg. $24.95) I know. I know. Granny Squares. But I have this book and there’s some pretty cool things in here. Though I wish I got it when it was on sale. <sigh>

Paradise Fibers 

Recycled Multicolor Sari Silk Yarn from India $6.95 (Reg. $10.95) 100% recycled silk.

Silver Creek Mohair Yarn $8.95 (Reg. $13.95) 78% Mohair 13% Wool 9% Nylon (One color)

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What is it about the change in the weather that causes the crafting bug to spawn out of control? As the calendar flips from August to October there seems to be a mental change in me that has to pull out the yarn stash and begin projects. Ok, fine. I don’t pull out the yarn stash. I give a half-hearted glance at the yarn stash, realize that there couldn’t possibly be anything in there I could use for my current ambitions and start cruising the online yarn establishments like some predator.

I find the yarn that fits the project I’m craving and away I go. Then while I’m waiting for the yarn to arrive from my online purchase, I look at the possibilities of more projects. I find a few cool ones, order some more yarn and away I go. But this time to the yarn store. The yarn from the first purchase won’t be delivered for at least a week. I need something now! I call my fiber buddy (aka: The Enabler) and head off to meet him at the semi-local yarn store.¹

I have a project in mind. I know what I want to do. And thanks to the store owner, I found the most delicious mohair blend in two subtly-yummy colors. I need seven skeins. She has two. She has to order more. It will be a couple of weeks.²

Safely back home I realize that when all is said and done I have four types of yarn being shipped to me, an additional one on backorder and have yet to start on a project.

I turn and look with a deep interest at my yarn stash.