Neon Yarn

Simply Soft, a great acrylic yarn that actually doesn’t feel like plastic, a few years back released a set of “Brite” yarn.  Hot pink, bright orange, lemonade yellow, shocking green, electric blue, and a purple that can only be described as intense.  This year, I decided I’d use these not-so-subtle colors to make my equally not-so-subtle sister a bright and modern afghan this Christmas.

And then.  They discontinued the yellow.

WHY?! Why do you do this, yarn companies?  How can you possibly take one color out of a set and expect it to be okay?  I spent well over double the cost of regular yarn to buy the discontinued Lemonade color on eBay, carefully checking and re-checking my yardage to make sure I’d have enough to finish the afghan.  It’s not like I can just go to the store and buy more.  So, yarn bought, I wept into my pillow and wished it farewell from the line (okay, maybe I wasn’t quite that dramatic!).

So, fast forward a few months later.  The boys and I were out running an errand that takes me to the other side of town, where there’s a Michael’s.  I always love to stop in and browse their yarn selection when I’m out that way.  And while I was poking around, dreaming of projects that could be made coordinating color schemes in my head, I came upon it:

Neon yarn.

Neon holds a very dear place in my heart.  After all, my formative years were spent in a sea of neon fashion, neon school supplies, and neon everything.  I mean, check it out (80s and 90s).  I think just about everything on those two pages brings back memories of my school years.

Anyway, when I saw these neon colors, I knew I had to have them.  I tried not to go overboard, only buying one of each, and foregoing the orange, which looked too similar to the mango color in the Brites line to justify the purchase at that point.  Also, there’s this nagging question of what in the world to do with them?  I’m trying to figure out now if there’s a way I can incorporate them into the aforementioned mod afghan for my sister.  Then again, this might just qualify for a project all its own.

Now, there is absolutely no logic to me in discontinuing a bright, sunny yellow color like Lemonade, only to have it replaced with highway-workers-vests neon yellow.  But gosh, these are just so fun.  I might hurry up and buy a few more (before they’re discontinued, too)!