I am a Yarn-o-holic and I am not ashamed of it. But before I expound further on that subject something else begs my attention.

Yesterday I posted a little something called It’s all about the Needles, where I talked about the right type of needles every knitter should have. I didn’t share it as a part of my blog because I thought it would be too technical (read boring!) for non-knitters. But it appears that the post needs some clarifications, so here goes!

First of all, contrary to popular perception, I do not force my mother to comment on my posts or give her aptly worded questions to put to me. She does it out of the goodness of her heart and I am grateful to her for that. That she asks the right things is a sign of her wisdom and no credit to me.

Secondly, I am getting no commission/discount from the Pradhan Embroidery Stores for recommending their goods. I doubt they know of my existence and if at all they do, it is only as someone who buys a lot of their products. The reason I placed a link to their online store in my post was that I hadn’t had the benefit of that recommendation in the early days of my knitting. I initially bought everything from Amazon, which left me in a much poorer state than any novice knitter wants to be in. All my research made it clear that the best quality yarn was being shipped from overseas and you had to shell out an exorbitant fee to get it shipped to India.

I didn’t find too many brick and mortar yarn stores either. Not that I am surprised. I’m sure it is no longer a financially viable business in India. There was the one I mentioned earlier, the one in Turabh Nagar (Ghaziabad), but I wasn’t up for a regular pilgrimage there each time I felt like starting a new project. I feverishly searched for some other yarn stores in Delhi, printed a list and headed out in my car – mostly to find dead ends or to find the stores selling mass-produced woollens instead.

The only option then was to become atma nirbhar and to somehow find cheaper yarn and delivery options myself. I scoured the net for days and came upon Pradhan. There are other sites of course, including the official Vardhaman website which has a dizzying array of yarns. But the Pradhan site immediately caught my eye for its variety of products, affordable costs and not very expensive delivery. There are all kinds of colours and materials of yarns and different types of needles available – the site is to a knitter what a candy shop is to a kid. Now whenever I feel low or restless, I open the website and browse through it. The cart is my best friend, which is probably why I own stacks upon stacks of yarn.

Which brings me to my earlier declaration. I am a Yarn-o-holic and I am not ashamed of it. One of the signs of yarn-o-holism is the existence of a whole separate cupboard, or even a separate room in the house, stacked full of unused yarn. In a country where space is always at a premium, a separate cupboard or room shows great commitment. It is also likely you would have a dozen projects on the go, which are also called WIPs (Works In Progress) or UFOs (UnFinished Objects) or PHDs (Projects Half Done) in knitting slang. It might also mean spending countless hours on the internet to find that perfect pattern for that perfect yarn, akin to a ‘match made in heaven’ when you get it right.

And it definitely means that you will no longer be able to pass by a yarn store without having a compulsive need to enter it. You might even pre-program them in your itinerary when you plan your travel to different places. Nikhil can vouch for that. He found his pockets several Yens lighter and his suitcase several kilos heavier after a visit to a yarn store in Tokyo, Japan last year.

As for me, my next trip is already planned. I’ll go to Mumbai with an empty suitcase, visit the Pradhan store at Fort in person and see if reality matches my dreams. Will keep you posted.

~P