from the list of things i wish I knew when I was starting out:

Dear cee:

you know you're hooked, honey, shell out for alpaca. wool. silk. merino. yes you'll have to wash them by hand and lay them out flat but you'll do it gladly. you'll wear them with pride. you'll be amazed at the eager spring of wool yarn. you'll stop to pet the alpaca just because the feeling is so soothing. the silk will gleam in your hands and make you feel like an artist.

(elann.com peruvian highland wool felts really easily, btw. don't put that sweater in the wash. not even in its own mesh bag in the gentle cycle with cold water. it will not be ok. you will cry. you will still be upset every time you see that picture of you wearing that sweater. Just don't do it.)

You. Love. Addi Turbos. Stop. Stop buying a single pair of addis in the right size for a project. as of this writing you have easily spent $400 on KNITTING NEEDLES because you saw the sticker on a starting set of Clicks and your cheapskate instinct rose up and your brain shut down. Now you feel like you can't buy a set of clicks because it's too late. Oh sweetie. You're pretty, you're smart, and you deserve them. and you're going to keep buying $20 circulars because you don't *like* knitting with anything else. Christmas is coming, dear.

you really enjoy making scarves. and hats. and mittens and gloves. and legwarmers. Not so much for the socks, but you know, there's enough sunshine to go around. But you hate being uncoordinated. So step back from the single skein single items. Think in terms of accessory sets - hat, scarf, gloves, legwarmers/bootcovers.

you *can* knit out of stash if you're excited about what you're making. You can resist a bargain because you have enough yarn at home. Those hours you spend browsing ravelry patterns and filling up your queue with hundreds of items? you're filling the well of ideas when you do that with a yarn in stash in mind. NOTE WHICH YARN IN YOUR STASH when you press queue or favorite. you might never make it. so? five different ideas for the same yarn doesn't mean you can't go looking for a sixth!

A lot of your satisfaction with knitting comes from the speed of your knitting. Beads frustrate you because they slow you down. Think twice about beaded projects...after you've done Celestarium, of course.

love,
cee