First Novelty Yarn

I've been talking so much about coffee I thought I would share something from my knitting past. I taught myself how to knit back in college but re-taught myself and more seriously after I got married. We lived back then in a gorgeous apartment down in Redondo Beach with a partial ocean view, just on the other side of the street from the ocean. Partial, because we could only see the ocean if we leaned out of our balcony and peered between the buildings across the street. We had all the advantages of beach living with the cool breezes, the ocean air and a pier with the churros, ice cream and seafood within a 5 minute walk. It was a pleasant two years, and a time I look back on very fondly.

However, my husband was a dot com-er who was looking for a new job and he had an interview in silicon valley. I went with him, and to celebrate the job offer, we took route 1 back home and stopped for the night just north of Cambria. In Cambria, we stopped at Ball, Skein and More since I had just started to become more passionate about my knitting. My patient husband came in with me and was impressed by all the colors and different yarns. He happened upon a table of really soft scarves and made me touch the scarves. I had not ever bought any novelty yarn or even considered it. I was still just using Joann's and Michael's yarns with the exception of yarn for a pair of socks. I bought two balls of black Trensetter Zucca to make a simple garter stitch scarf. It was the softest yarn I had touched up until then and at something like $7/ball it was the most extravagant yarn purchase I had ever made!

The scarf ended up being a Christmas gift for my best friend. She was finishing up her last year of medical school near New York City and needed more scarves. Last time I visited her at her place, she still had this scarf although it looks pretty ratty. I've had the intention in the last two winters to replace the scarf, and I'm really happy the gift was so appreciated. She's one of the few people that I will always knit for since she appreciates what I make for her.