So, between the Spring Fling a couple weekends ago, Maryland Sheep & Wool last weekend, and some other fiber procurement opportunities (that makes it sound so much better than "buying more stuff"), my yarn and fiber stashes have been appreciably enhanced.
Wanna see?
Of course you do!
So, sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful -- oh, wait...never mind. You won't really hear anything. This is an audio-free blog. But I've got pictures! Oh yes I do! I've got pictures, how 'bout YOU?! (I'm sorry...truly I am...it's late, and I'm a little punchy.) I've also included all of the specifics of each item, but feel free to just peruse the pictures if you aren't interested in that!
Here we go...first, the yarn...
Top left: Yarn from Spring Fling -- Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (colorway was Moss, I think...it's not marked on the tag); Araucania Itata, superwash wool, silk and bamboo (color 1003); Sockittome yarn from Ancient Threads Farm, superwash merino/nylon (colors cochineal, lac, black walnut); Shaefer Nichole, superwash/nylon (this was in our goodie bags, and I don't see a colorway listed on the tag...it's a pretty blue/gray, though).
Top right: some handspun of mine from some YarnLove roving, more of which is pictured below.
Bottom left: Yarn from a Loopy Ewe order I placed the freakin' day after I got home from Spring Fling...I KNOW! Insane, right? Three skeins of Enchanted Knoll Farm yarn, all superwash merino, two sport weight (colorways Red Dirt Girl and Cleopatra) and one fingering weight (colorway Tia Dalma...this one is also nylon reinforced). But see, there was a good reason for this order. I got to meet Josette, the dyer behind EKF, at the Fling...in fact I had breakfast with her Sunday before we left, and she was lovely! Sweet woman, great sense of humor, really enjoyed getting to meet her, and I really wanted to add some of her yarn to my stash! So there! Good reason, right?
Bottom right: From MS&W, Foot Prints sport weight, superwash merino, from The Unique Sheep (colorway Zombie...how could I pass that up??).
And now for the fiber...
Top Row: From Spring Fling -- Scarlett Fleece Roving (Mexican Sunflower and Raisin Berry colorways...I actually have some of their sock yarn in the Mexican Sunflower colorway, so it will be interesting to see how closely my handspun looks to their yarn...my guess is that it won't look anything alike, LOL); YarnLove roving (Jewels of Autumn and Blue Plate Special colorways -- it is the Jewels of Autumn that made the handspun in the yarn pic above, and I still have the second half of it to go); Alpaca with a Twist Handspinner's Dream Baby Alpaca combed top (moorit colorway...and OH MY GOSH, this stuff is sooooofffftttttt!); From MS&W-- Dragonfly Fibers merino/silk roving (Starry Night...and I just realized I bought a skein of her yarn back at the Homespun Yarn Party in March!).
Bottom Row: Cloverleaf Farms Merino (sunflower); also Cloverleaf Farms, wool/silk (Surf -- my word, but this colorway is AMAZING...I cannot wait to spin it and see what happens!); three bags with two ounces each of Icelandic Wool Roving, two from Aboundingful Farm and one from Cedarland Farm. I love that they put the names and pictures of the sheep the wool came from on the tags; an assortment of hand-dyed curly locks...can't remember who I bought them from, but they're kind of fun, and I also bought a set of hand cards at MS&W, so I figure I can comb them and add them to other rovings, just to play.
As you can see (I think), I really wanted to concentrate on roving moreso than yarn, though it is hard to resist the call of a rogue skein here and there, you know?
A couple of other goodies I picked up at MS&W...
Pewter cape clasp from The Rams Horn Studio. They have some crazy amazingly beautiful things in their shop, especially if you love Celtic designs. I could have gone nuts here, but it was early enough in the day that I was still able to exercise restraint.
One of the famous sheepy knitting mugs from Jennie the Potter! I first saw one of these on Amy Singer's Knitty blog (I think?) a while back, so I was really excited to get one of my very own! There is a white sheep on the other side, and the red yarn winds around to a ball with two needles in between the two sheep. Totally cute. She's got all kinds of very cool ceramics. I wish I could have bought more, but again...restraint. :::sigh:::
Oh, and while this is not related to either Fling or the festival, there is also this yarn residing in my stash...
This was my inaugural shipment from the Pick of the Knitter club from Three Irish Girls. Ok, yes, the fact that I've joined a yarn club (my first ever, I will point out) means even MORE yarn will be coming to me, at least for two more months, but honestly, I LOVE 3IG's yarns...Sharon's colorways are indescribably gorgeous. She has a true gift for dying, um, dyeing. Sharon is also the queen of customer service, going above and beyond. I can't say enough nice things about her and her yarn.
I recently started my first project from some of the other yarn I've bought from her. This is the DIC Shrug (Rav link) that I'm making for the girlie out of 3IG Elenya (a merino/alpaca blend) in the Aiden colorway...
I mean...look at these colors! Sometimes I just sit with it on my lap and stare at them. They are so amazing.
And see? Isn't it nice to know that I'm not just stashing yarn, but I'm knitting with it too? Yes. This is key. Otherwise some day I'm going to die and my children are going to inherit a roomful of yarn, which they'll probably box up and give to Goodwill, and then I would seriously have to come back and haunt them. It's just better that I knit my stash whilst I'm still among the living, dontcha think?
More knitting...
This is a Jaywalker sock being knit from some Wollmeise in Miss May. Only it is not really being knit now, because I am stoopid. Gauge, people. Sometimes gauge really does matter. OK, most of the time, gauge really does matter, but I haven't been bitten in the ass by bad gauge karma enough to worry about it all that much. I've been lucky. And I mean, it's a SOCK. I've knit a bunch of socks, and size has rarely been an issue. I use my fingering weight and my US2s and I usually get a nice, wearable sock. In this case, though, I heeded the cry of those who came before me saying how less-than-stretchy the Jaywalker is due to the chevron design, so I measured my foot (in the St. Louis airport, to be exact) and chose to knit the next size up, as I was between sizes, totally disregarding the fact that the pattern called for using US1s, not 2s. Thus, I have the beginning of a sock that would fit an elephant. Yeah. :::sigh::: I am going to frog it and start over with the smaller pattern size and the same needles...I like my 2s. I'm stubborn. (But it looks pretty, doesn't it? That Claudia...she does color well!)
This is seriously the pride and joy of my spinning experience so far. It is just under 900 yards of (almost consistently) fingering weight yarn! I am so psyched about this! It was spun from New Hue Handspun's new BamHuey fiber, a merino/bamboo blend. Cheryl is another amazing dyer, and this colorway just makes me feel warm and happy every time I look at it. The yarn is so incredibly soft, too! I bought the fiber with the intention of spinning yarn to make a pair of Wendy's Sunflower socks, but I had no idea I'd be able to get such yardage from 6 oz. of fiber (I'm still learning about how certain amounts of fiber yeild certain amounts of yarn when spun at various weights), so I've decided instead it is going to become a Caricia shawl instead, since I'm anxious to knit an Anne Hanson shawl now that I've taken her lace class at Fling.
this little stuffed heart took no time at all to make, including the stitching and embroidery. Cute, no? The pattern is from MochiMochi Land. This blog has some of the cutest knitting patterns...cute and quirky, like a knitted resistor for the electronics geek in your life, and the knitted toilet paper, which I think would be too funny as a gag with someone who is really drunk, LOL, and knitted grass! You don't have to mow it! It makes me want to just knit nothing but stuffed silliness for no other reason than the cuteness factor! :}
1 comment:
Wow, you've been busy! Love the mug, clasp, shrug, hearts, and that BamHuey! That is gorgeous.
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