Even further behind

At least as far as "projects" go. Don't ask about the list of unfinished or unstarted projects. It's not a pretty sight. But I just ordered some yarn from Joann.com, to take advantage of free shipping and a yarn sale, plus the fact that they have some things that I can't find locally. (More on that later.) Of course, I was in a bit of a hurry and forgot to order the stitch markers, but I guess that's an excuse to visit the local Joann store.

I ordered:

• 3 skeins of Lion Suede, two Mocha, one coffee - for the crochet stick horse mentioned earlier. I'm changing the colors, so it'll be closer to a buckskin than whatever color the original is in.
• 3 skeins of Patons Canadiana, which I think I've seen once locally, maybe. I can't remember. But they have some colors that look gorgeous on the computer screen; we'll see how they look in real life. I got Misty Mountain, Bright Royal, and Really Green. Don't know what they'll end up being used for, though.
• 4 balls of Sugar N Cream cotton from Lily - Country Sage, Landscape, Rosewood, and Swimming Pool. These will end up being gifts, at least in part. I found some patterns on Lily's site for bath mitts, placemats, and the like. And there was a pattern in a book at Barnes & Noble the other night, for a crocheted ball. El Burrito would like one, I'm sure. Didn't buy the book, but it was pretty simple, so I plan to give it a shot.

Back to the local yarn thought. I don't really like ordering yarn sight unseen online, because I never know what it will feel like, or what the colors really look like. Right now, my local choices are pretty much limited to the big chains - Walmart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc. Not much in the way of "nicer" yarn, and even their color selections in the more common yarns are limited. It stinks. Of what I ordered today, I've seen the Suede in person, I've seen the Lily in person but not in the colors I wanted, and I think I may have seen the Canadiana once at a local store. There may be a local store or two, but they're out of the way, and tend not to be set up for someone with a stroller. (Neither are some of the mall stores, either. )

I'd love to order some of the really wild stuff online, but I'd probably get stuck with a ton of expensive yarn that I don't care for. Right now, I've got mostly acrylic and cotton, and one skein of clearance Lion Wool. Some people don't care for acrylic, because of the "cheap" connotation, but it has its place. I'm making hats for El Burrito, and since those will tend to get chewed on, dropped in puddles, urped on, and quickly outgrown, I'd really prefer that they can be tossed in the laundry without being hand-washed. Acrylic is good for that, and there are some nice soft yarns now. Wool might be nice in the future, but until we know about any wool allergies and get past the hat-chewing stage, and until someone quits outgrowing the hats in three months or less, I'm disinclined to put a lot of time or money into "nice" hats. Later, it'll be time to hunt for a wool that doesn't make me itch. Until then, I'll see how the Lion Wool works. There was some adjusting to do when I switched from acrylic to cotton last fall, and probably more of the same for working with wool.