Knot Again

What I've been up to... part 2

A few of the ladies from my knitting group and I went up to Estes Park Wool Market.  It was so much fun hanging out with them for just about the whole day, not to mention seing the critters (Christy was right... big sheep go BAA-AAA, babies go baa-aaa... and that makes a lot more sense if you're actually seeing the sheep).  And Phoebe was an angel and saved my aching back by carrying my purse for a bit, because apparently, almost any weight (I only had my little purse, and it really wasn't all that full) carried on one side for long enough will almost break me in two.  And yes, I tried carrying it on the other side, but after just a few minutes, I'd look down and discover it was back in my right hand or over my right shoulder again, and I wouldn't even have remembered switching.

So, here's most of my loot:

First off, I got a 4"x4" Weavette loom.  I was extremely lucky to get it.  I only saw two vendors that carried the Weavette's.  One didn't have the 4"x4" size at all, and I got the very last one that the other vendor had (not even on display... still in her plastic tote bin).  This was one of the big things I was looking for there, so I was extremely happy to find one.  I had to have one, because I was completely enchanted by the Rustic Tomato pincushion that Theresa made.  Theresa's been getting me into lots of trouble, as you'll see in a later post or two.  I also bought a skein of Misti Alpaca laceweight in tan and another itty bitty alpaca laceweight in white to use with it, although:

I found out when I got home that laceweight is definitely not the best option for this application.  Because it's so thin, you can't get the threads to lay straight, so it's a bit messy.  The green is some Wildefoote sock yarn I had... closer, but not quite.  The felted square on top was made with some of the yarn my dye-o-rama pal hand dyed for me.  I wanted to see how using a variegated yarn turned out.  This little loom is fun... you only need 7-8 yards of yarn for each square, so it's a nice way to use up leftovers.

I also got a black sheep tape measure.  I've been SOOOOO wanting one of these for the longest time, but it seemed the only one to get one was if you knew someone who owned a yarn store.  The company would send out one black sheep with each batch, but they were always snapped up by the owner/employees/friends, so didn't make it to the shelves.  So, when I saw them at one of the booths, I just had to snatch one up.

And last, but most definitely not least...

This is two skeins of Brooks Farm Yarn's Four Play, in a colorway I don't think they carry on their website, althought there is a possibility it's the one they call Whimsey.  Their booth is extreme eye candy.  I don't think there's a single icky color combination.  But this yarn here... I think it is one of the most "ME" yarns I've ever seen.

I'm going to stop and apologize now in case my site and my pictures have always looked messed up and gross to you.  We got a new mac, and after going through the steps to calibrate the screen, everything on there looked different than on our old computer (where I designed all my graphics and color schemes and color adjusted all my photos).  I have no idea whether the mac is off or the old computer is off, or they're both off in different ways.  My site... as I've always seen it, has a lovely deep red rose on the header, and I matched all the colors as best I could to that.  With the mac calibrated the way that you're told to, it looks an icky burgundy-orange color.  I tried to calibrate the mac's screen for my account to be true to my blog colors, but then other things seem to trend toward blue.  I'm at a loss.  What does my blog look like to you?

Mother's Day... aka my sock drawer runneth over

For Mother's Day, I told my family I was going yarn shopping and that could be their gift to me since they hadn't had a chance to get me anything yet anyways convinced my family to buy me yarn. 

We were visiting up in Denver on Saturday, so we stopped in at String (the store that got in their Koigu order 3 days after our yarn crawl last fall).  String is now officially my favorite (semi) LYS.

I picked out a few things (all by myself... the rest of my family thinks the yarn store is SOOOOO boring), and when I got back out to the car and wanted to show them, my 5 year old wanted to decide which stuff she "gave" me, and then of course, the other two wanted to do the same thing, so, here they are, in order of "giftee":

From my 5 year old daughter... Koigu P609:

From my  8 year old daughter, Koigu P419:

From my 10 year old son (orange is his favorite color, and I told him I'm making the Liesel scarf out of it, and I think he liked that idea)... Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk in Brick:

And (by default) from my husband... Koigu P500 (this one's been on my list of colorways I hope to find... woo-hoo!):

Interesting note... I took all these photos one right after another, in the same spot and all from the same angle... but look how different the carpet looks in the pictures.  Weird.

I had a bit of amusement when I got home... check out how remarkably consistent my tastes can be...

Koigu P609 and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Spanish Moss (I suspected this one in the store, but it was just so pretty, and I don't mind at all that I will have... or at least knit... 2 pairs of socks that are so similar in color):

Koigu P419 and Lang Jawoll Superwash 8281:

It should be noted... in a pinch, children can be used as a substitute for a swift, but the yarn tends to catch on their thumbs and elbows, preventing an even tension as you're balling the yarn, and they tend to get dizzy, so there's a limit to how many yards you can wind at a time, and you're pretty much limited to one skein per child within any reasonable working time frame.

I got some new yarn

Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca from Elann, in Dusty Rose (2 balls) , Chocolate Truffle (1 ball), Dusty Teal (8 balls) and Wisteria (8 balls): 

Again, I was "forced" into buying because a color I wanted (The Wisteria) was running out.  The Dusty Teal is destined to be Cozy from knitty for my grandma.  The Wisteria (have I mentioned this is just about my favorite color ever), a Cozy for me. 

The Dusty Rose has already been made into a scarf for my SIL (I'll show pictures after I wash and block it).  The Chocolate Truffle... well, I had originally thought I might use it as the ruffle  on my SIL's scarf, but when I got it, I just didn't like it that much.  It had lots of light hairy bits in it, and I just didn't think it looked that good, so that idea was scrapped, and the poor little ball is relegated to the status of swatching yarn.

I also got some Rowanspun (ROWAN!) 4 ply in Jade (10 skeins):

Jessica had mentioned a big sale on this ($19.99 for a bag of 10, with free shipping... this stuff normally went for around $5.50 a skein,), and as I never get to knit with anything Rowan, because it's so pricey, I bought some (they only had one bag left in this color, or I would've bought a second bag).

Each skein is 162 yards, and it's rather thin yarn... I'd been thinking it was DK weight, but at 26-28 stitches per inch, it's fingering weight.  I was originally planning on making the Cul-de-Sac vest, like Bron did, out of it, but this vastly different gauge means there's no way it's going to work for that.  Now I'm at a loss as to what to do with it.  I can't get more... at least not much more (it's discontinued, so it's not readily available, and the best price I've found online is $3.85/skein), and any more I get is likely to be of a different dye lot.  I searched through elann's pattern section, and it looks like  what I have (1620 yards) MIGHT be enough for a short sleeved sweater (might, because I'm tall and would have to lengthen most any pattern), but a vest is more likely all I'd be able to get out of what I've got. 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me for something I could make with it?  I could really use some help.  It doesn't HAVE to be clothing (although I'm hoping to come up with some way it could be).

(Click on the extended entry for puppy antics)

Mine, all mine!

Lookie what I got:

I have been wanting this yarn for ages (over a year, at least), ever since I saw these gorgeous socks that Kristi knit:

The yarn is discontinued, though, and I had the hardest time finding it... it never came up on ebay, and most of my google searches gave me bubkis, except for the PT yarns site that shows examples of all their yarns (oh... and I just went there and noticed that they've added a sold out tag to the colorway now... that's new... so they don't even have any left at the factory now).

After one especially determined search I came up with 2 little stores with online ordering that listed it, but at the time it was just before Christmas and just after our big yarn crawl, so I just sent myself an email with the links in it, and set it aside.  Last week, though, I was placing an order for something else, and as long as I already had the card out, I figured I'd find out if either of them really did have it in that colorway.  One of the sites didn't even have it listed anymore, and when I called the other place... they had one (and only one) skein left.

I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to get this one little purchase!

Now I just have to decide what type of socks to make with it.  It looks like it stripes a bit, so it might look nice as Jaywalkers, but it's so pretty on it's own that I'm thinking of just doing plain socks, without worrying about any pattern (and, I think I want to do my Jaywalkers in yarn to match a particular shirt I have).

Oh, elann...

You are the place I most hate to love (or maybe love to hate... it's hard to tell).  You tempt me mercilessly with yummy yarns at better prices than I can find elsewhere, making me feel like I must buy, and buy now, lest I lose the chance to use the yarn I want for the project I so desperately want to do.  I try to resist your sumptuous temptations, and for the most part I succeed... at least in deluding myself that I can get what I desire at some nebulous "later" time.  That is when you up the anti... by telling me the yarn I desire is RUNNING OUT.  Sadly, I usually fall for this loudest of your siren songs.

Peruvian Sierra Aran in Italian Plum. It's a lovely, rich shade of purple , all nicely mottled in a way I can't seem to describe.  I recommend clicking on the picture so you can see the bigger version.  All the richness seems to have disappeared in the smaller image.

I knew as soon as I got the newsletter announcing this yarn would be coming that this is what I wanted to make Rogue out of.  I watched as the yarn came up for sale, fearing that like so many that I liked, it would be gone in a heartbeat.  It wasn't.  But I remained vigilant.  I checked it every day, usually multiple times a day, to make sure it hadn't fallen below that unknown 50+ mark.  On the last day of the year, it finally did.  I didn't get online until afternoon, and then when I checked... the number was 40.  I quickly put together my order (I needed 20 balls to make sure that I had enough to lengthen it to fit my monkey arms and long body), and got it placed.  It's a good thing I was able to check and buy when I did, because in the time it took me to place my order, someone else had already bough 11 other balls.  There were only 9 left.  It took a couple more days for it to completely run out, but I think that's only because there was no longer enough left for a full sweater... I think if I'd even had to wait a couple more hours before I got to check in that day, I wouldn't have been able to make my Rogue in the color I wanted.  *PHEW!*

Or, I was suckered again... you be the judge.

Chianna seems to think it's alright stuff, though:

* Some days, couldn't you just bear hug your mail person?  Yesterday, when this came,  was one of those days.

Yarn Crawl

Our Knitters With Altitude made our way up to Denver for our long-awaited yarn crawl on the 12th.  What I was most looking for was sock yarn that I can't find at our local stores... KOIGU, Lorna's Laces, Socks that Rock, Mountain Colors (everywhere seems to carry Mountain Colors, but almost none of it is sock yarn... too much is novelty-type yarns).

We were able to make it to 5 stores, here's a run down: 

String

Hard to find.   When I googled, I couldn't find the store's website, and the only place I was able to find an address for them had it wrong.  It took us a couple of tries with Information to get the right address, too (apparently, there's also a restaurant called String... go figure).

Most of the yarn is arranged by color.  While that might be pretty, it's not at all convenient in trying to find something for a particular project.  They had a brand new box of Lorna's Laces that they were unpacking, but none of it on top or that I could see by moving things around on top was sock yarn, and I didn't think dumping the whole thing out to see what was on the bottom would be much appreciated.

They had a bunch of large boxes of yarn on big discounts, but it was almost exculsively crap novelty yarn, so whoop-de-do.  The only thing I bought there (actually we, as most of us chipped in) was some Felicia yarn for our Felicia, who was sick and couldn't make it (really... how could we not get Felicia yarn for Felicia?).

A Colorful Yarn

We went there because a Denver knitblogger said they have good customer service and they're a nice store... and because their website said they had Cherry Tree Hill on sale (heh... sock yarn).

I pawed through all of their Cherry Tree Hill, and they only had one colorway I liked, so I took my skein up to the register only to find out that it was a different type of Cherry Tree Hill yarn they had on sale.  All is good... my knitblogger friend was right... great customer service!  The lady gave me a discount on it (not quite as much as I'd expected, but closer to that than to full price), because she knew we'd come far, and she understood how disappointing it is to think you're getting a good deal on something and then not be able to.

Aurora Yarn Supply

This one is a gem!  They're pretty easy to find (especially if you realize that they don't have the NAME of the store on their storefront, just a big sign that says YARN), and they had really good sale prices on a lot of nice yarns.  Plus, for any yarn you bought, if you got 10 skeins, you got a 20% discount.  They have lots and lots of good basic yarns, too.  If you're doing a cable or colorwork project, this is definitely the place to stop.  The only reason I didn't buy anything there was that I didn't have any projects in mind that I could match up to yarn.

The Recycled Lamb

Nice little store.  They carried No No Kitty yarns, which I hadn't seen in person and are rather nice.  They also had some decent discount yarn... lookie what I got:

I may make the Liesel scarf out of this.  I'd wanted to do that in Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca & Silk in Brick, though, so we'll see.  Maybe I'll make it in this as a gift (but boy I like the color, so I want it for me.

Showers of Flowers

The biggest disappointment of the day.

We went there because we were basically told it would be a shame not to, because they have everything, so you can touch stuff that isn't sold around here, so you can only see online.  Sounded like good reasoning.

Well, they do have an awful lot, but of the stuff I can't see locally, so, so much was crap novelty yarn that I wouldn't use, and most of the rest was expensive stuff I can't afford (Colinette, Rowan, etc.).  They did have Mountain Colors Bearfoot, but the selection was pathetic and I didn't like any of the colorways.  I did pick up some Karaoke in Mermaid mix for my International Secret Scarf Exchange scarf:

and also some laceweight Madil Super Due Merino  in a deep burgundy red:

It must be a discontinued yarn, because I can't find it anywhere online, including on the Cascade Yarns (Madil's parent company) website.  It's 1531 yards, which sounded like a lot there, but as I've been trying to decide what to make of it, a lot of the options ask for more yardage.  They had one more hank... I may have to call them and see if they'll sell it over the phone and mail it to me.

I also got some more Araucania Nature Wool:

The hanks I had bought previously (online) were not at all (read way too much yellow in the mix) the color that I thought I was buying.  This isn't that color, either, but that's because, well... I love sagey green (please note in the URL of this blog... sagebrush is the nickname I've used online since I first needed a nickname... although I admit I dabbled in other nicks, sagebrush is the classic), and I rationalized realized that the darker green I thought I was getting before might just be too dark to show the stitch definition off the way I wanted to.  Yeah, that's it.

I don't know what to do with the original skeins now, though... whether or not  I should try to make something with it and give them as a gift.  I could very well be convinced to part with them if offered something more me in exchange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update:  I found out from reading the blog of one of the Denver knitbloggers that 2 days after we were there, String got their initial (ie. $2500 wholesale... which is why none of the stores around here will carry it, as most are too small) Koigu order. 

I've been trying not to cry.

And hoping they still have a decent selection by the time I get back up there, which likely won't be until mid to late January... at least.

A solution, maybe...

So, I came up with what I hope will be a solution to my KnitPicks yarn dilemma.  I bought a ball of each of the yarns I was considering:

The colors here aren't perfect... I can't seem to capture them right, but hopefully you can get the idea.  I was right... the Andean Silk Hollyberry color (the middle) seems to be exactly what I was looking for.  The Cranberry (left) is a good red, just brighter than what I want, and the Embers (right) in Andean Treasure looks muddy to me (I might like it in a different application, but I don't think it's what I want for this project).

And I just have to mention... the Andean Treasure is like butta, people.  I can't describe how soft it is.  I will have to find an appropriate project to use that yarn for!  I'll have to swatch and see what kind drape the yarn gives.  It might be perfect (in Sunset) for my namesake scarf, or (in Lilac) for Cozy, if it's not too drapey to work for lacey projects.

Now I want to swatch for it... but I managed to forget to put the pattern in my cart. 

*imagine me banging my head repeatedly on my computer desk here*

By any chance, have any of you bought the pattern and can tell me the info I need to do a gauge swatch?  That way, I can order the pattern when I order the yarn for it.

And of course, you all know KnitPicks ships free for orders over $30, so I HAD to get more (okay, I was already planning an order, anyways... so I wasn't really buying up to get the $30, in fact, they were out of the paint your own sock yarn, so I actually ended up spending less... for now... than I was planning).  Here's the rest:

Elements sock yarn, to make the Almost Argyle sock pattern.  I may have to rethink that plan, though (or maybe just buy more of this yarn), because the Elements in Burgundy matches the Andean Silk Hollyberry almost exactly, and I will probably want to make some socks to coordinate with that sweater. 

Hmmm... I'm thinking it's scary that I want to make socks to match a sweater.  Does this mean I've fallen off the deep end with this knitting obsession of mine?

Bron gifted me the Andean Silk Twist awhile back, and I wanted to make a cover for my MP3 player, kindof like Wendy's, so I picked up some Andean Silk in Navy to go with it.

And last, but not least, 2 hanks of their Paint Your Own laceweight yarn.  I'm hoping to dye the yarn for a larger Leaf Lace Shawl.  I want it to end up looking something like this:

All the vibrant colors of autumn.  Now I just have to figure out how to do that.  I've only ever dyed solid with Kool-Aid before, so I have a lot to learn.

Got me some birthday yarn :)

Since I did absolutely nothing to convey to anyone what I wanted for my birthday ('cause I really had no clue myself), I just got the opportunity to spend what money would've gone to that.

So, I plopped my tush down on the computer chair and started browsing the internet for... yarn, of course!  I didn't spend everything... yet, but I'm sure the rest will trickle away just as fast as you can say boo.

So, here's what came in my little package today:

OPAL TIGER!  For some strange reason that I can't explain, I'd become rather enamored of the Opal Tiger, and since it had been discontinued, so I had no way to get any.  I'm so glad they've re-released it in their new Rainforest collection.

Speaking of which, this one just screamed to be bought, too:

I have two little girls who love pink, and this is just too, too cute.  I was so glad to notice when it arrived that it's SUPERWASH.

I also got 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces, in the Somerset colorway:

This colorway was one I'd had on my list of ones I liked, but after seeing this sock of Tracy's, "I just HAD to have it!" (Have you seen that Capitol One commercial on identity theft with the dumpy looking guy talking in a valley girl voice?  This statement sounds just like that in my head.)  Pretty, pretty, PRETTY! 

Tracy... if you see this... what pattern were you using for your sock?  Or, if not a pattern, per se (it looks nice and basic)... what type of heel turn were you using?  Are there directions online?

Oh, and the Lorna's Laces is just so incredibly soft - much softer than the Opal, although considering how popular Opal is, I'd have to guess it softens up after washing.

And finally, because shipping was free if your order was $50, and I was JUST shy of it, I got the Fiber Trends pattern for their Coccoon Lace Scarf & Wrap:

This looks like a rather simple pattern, but it is just exquisite.  I may have to have it in both styles (although I especially want the scarf... it'll come first).

Yarn Binge

What does a stressed out knitter do... besides knit, that is?  Well, she buys yarn, of course.  Yarn that she doesn't know what to do with, but since it's discontinued, well, it's now or never, ya know.

I started out hunting some Vanilla (white) for a friend of mine who can't find it.  I was sure I'd left a few skeins on the shelf at Hancock Fabrics, so that was my backup.  But after going to JoAnn's, the other Tuesday morning way across town, and then back to Hancock Fabrics, I was only able to score one.  ARGH!

But, since I was out...

I did end up picking up some orange from TM to do a sweater for my son.  He loves orange... but, why, oh, why, are the only good coordinating colors of CE black, red and yellow?  I'm not too thrilled with the idea of it looking Halloweeny, and yellow and red makes me want to do a flame motif, which is also not what I want to do.

And then JoAnn's had bunches of the lavendar shade I like all in the same dyelot, so I bought it all  (IT'S MINE... ALL MINE... MUAHAHAHA... um... is it bad I'm feeling so selfish and possesive over it?).  Some of it may end up being the honeycomb sweater I mentioned, or I may find something else altogether, who knows.  I can always use any extra for an Aran sampler afghan.

In knitting news... I've been working feverishly on something of my own design.

It's to be a felted bag.  My mom liked the Booga Bag I'd made (even liked the exact colorway and didn't want to look at any of the others), but she wanted to be able to put a 3 ring binder in it.  The way the Booga Bag handles attach, I'd have to make a big bag even bigger to compensate at the opening, so I've come up with something new. 

I've even done a mid-knit redesign.  The first design plan would have had me grafting fabric going perpendicular directions to one another, and felting the fabric shrinks it more one way than the other... so, rather than tempt fate, I scrapped that idea and am working it a different way. 

Now I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should double up the yarn on the bottom for a thicker fabric.  I've got about 40 rows before I have to decide.

I'm a lemming.

Here's proof:

With all the hubbub about Cotton-Ease, I've gathered myself a bit of a stash of it.

I got the blues and white on the left side from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.  It will probably end up being for a little boy's blanket or sweater (multiples, maybe... depending on how far each skein takes me).  It was still full price from there, and the skeins had certainly been handled a lot.

The pistachio and popsicle blue I got from Tuesday Morning.  There selection was poor, and they only had one bag each of these two colors, so that's all I got there.  They did have a lot of orange, which I didn't get, but since my son really likes orange, if I can think of a project for it, I may go back and get it.

The rest I picked up at Hancock Fabrics.  I'm thinking of designing a sweater for my girls in pink, possibly based on the Nantucket Brocade pattern I'll be making for myself, and maybe using a strawberry theme or motif, which is why I picked up another skein of pistachio.  The licorice could be used for some sort of outlining or blanket stitching, but I don't know.  I'm still mulling it all over in my head.

Want more proof I'm a lemming?

Look what I picked up off ebay.  NO, I did NOT pay $50+ for it, like I've seen it go for.  It only cost me $13 and change, including shipping.  But still... the fact that I felt I had to have one, just proves how easily influenced I can be.