Stash 'n' Stuff

The best part about these fiber festivals is that instead of having to 'crawl' from one yarn store to another --not that this activity can't be fun, especially after a few beers-- all the yarn, roving, supplies and accessories are right there at your fingertips, no shipping, no guessing at your monitors ability to judge color/weight/texture...just the full sensory experience...or full sensory overload, one of the two...luckily this isn't my first dog-and-pony show and I've learned to manage all that yarn fumage and can keep myself in check...*ahem*...if by "in check" I were to have meant,

buywhatevercatchesyoureyecuztheendcouldcomeatanyminuteandohmygoshIwon'thave enoughyarn!!!

The haul, most of which I actually needed *snark*......

This will be a lovely shawl (the Fiber Trend pattern off to the right, up there)...

This will be a cardigan...someday...but gosh you have to admit it's purty...

The fabulous aqua yarn is indeed Aquaboy in lightweight from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and the grey/purple is Blech (I don't know why-it didn't make me want to blow chunks at all :) in the BMFA Silkie. There are also various sundries; stitch markers, needles and patterns. The oblong box is my new treasure...see, if one is lucky, a shopping trip will yield a special trinket that makes all the other stuff a little jealous, it may be the way you carried it lovingly, gave it it's own space in your carry-on and then there was that personal photo shoot...

That's my new travel size swift.

*sigh* I love yarn festivals...

p.s. that might not be all I bought...ugh, but the other stuff gets it's own entry...

Oh, where to start...

I had a lovely time at Madrona this past weekend...it was a yarn-y paradise of woolly goodness! The journey was fabulous in two ways--well, maybe more than that...walk with me... See, I was supposed to go to KOAC in Minneapolis at the Mall of America. However, my aunt asked me at one point whether or not there would be yarn for sale and I answered, rather cheekily perhaps, "Of course, why wouldn't they?" But the seeds of disbelief had been planted and I was forced to email the organization and ask about vendors. But *gasp* and to my astonishment there would be none....none...no really, that's what she said! Now, I'm not putting down the KOAC at all but I wanted to buy excessive amounts of YARN!!!!




So, I immediately started down the road to finding a place to do that. Luckily for me my search led me to the Madrona Fiber Arts festival (yes, I might have been the only person that didn't know about it) and I tried to book a room as soon as I found it. Unfortunately, the room specials were all gone. Remarkably, that ended up being really fortuitous because Carol found me a spartan, but safe and clean, alternative that was half of the price :) In fact, with the savings we rented a car and still had yarn money left over so I was deeee-lighted! Thanks Carol! The drive was less than five miles and dumped us right at the door step of the Hotel Murona (which is currently being renovated into something else far too classy and hip for the likes of me). I have to say that the hotel was gorgeous, centrally located to the loveliness that downtown has to offer (and yes there is some)....


This is on the walkway to the Museum of Glass...


Yup, that there is moss on a car...I must have giggled the whole walk back to the hotel, singing something about, "moss covered three-handled family credenzas..."
The staff at the hotel was accommodating, friendly and really helpful...Yea team Murona!!!! So, on to yarn...yes, yarn. Try to contain yourselves but my mother, aunt and I were not even remotely interested in the classes...I know, I know, the place was thick with the knitting equivalent of rock stars...I saw the Yarn Harlot and did the only respectable thing given my natural shyness (really, I could be Canadian because my shyness would probably be mistaken for politeness) I Kinneared her...
She's the one wearing the lovely orangesque shirt in the background behind all the yarn.


Shortly there after my aunt was getting help with a vest pattern and yarn selection for said vest when I jerked my mom aside and whispered fiercely into her ear, "That's Bev Galeskas she's is talking to, ohmahgawd!!!!!" Mom was all like-who? and I was all like BevGaleskasknittingrockstarohmygawdshe'sbeenonteevee!! I actually stuttered out an introduction later, but I might have scared her a little bit. I did the only thing that I could think of at the time, I Kinneared her too...



Then my aunt got jealous, so I Kinneared her.
There were so many more amazing people there, I'm sure I ran into several people of royal stature that I never even recognized...
Next up, stash 'n' stuff enhancement and WIPs.

Oh ma Gawd!!

Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat?!?!?! I won something! And not just anything! I won a bunny!!!! Well, kinda...

Ain't she puuuurty? Ysolda, a designer and knitter, has a blog that I frequent and she held a contest to name her bunny creation. Never one to step down from a contest, I decided to throw my 2 bits into the mix...I thought really hard, and then picked the name of an Edgar Allen Poe character named Beatrice...It turns out that Ysolda decided to name her creation after the darling girl that the bunny was gifted to so I didn't feel like I lost but I kinda forgot about it and then....I got a fabulous email saying that I had been selected as one of 5 lucky people who won the pattern :) Garsh, I've never won anything before!!! Hee hee, ain't she purty? I think she will be made from this ...

This is some BBBBEEEEEEUUUUUtiful yarn I purchased at the Taos Fiber Festival in New Mexico. I was a stupid idiot and only bought one skein (a generous 8 ounces and 500 yards of 100% kid mohair) so I couldn't really make anything big with it (I had been thinking shawl when I bought it but then why the hell didn't I get enough yardage--duuuuuuuuh)...so, after checking the website of the folks who sold it to me (Brooks Farm in Lancaster, Texas) just in case they accidentally had an extra skein (no such luck), I whined a little to myself, and had to resign the yarns' fate to the whims of something normal size...I had toyed with this lovely bit o' knitting from Wendy Knits (I was going to remove one or two repeats to adjust for the yardage). I had also toyed with the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2006...but now I'm glad that I waited...I think that this yarn has just been waiting for Sophie and I'm going to really love how soft and sweet the bunny will be...k--gotta go, must...knit...bunny...

Whatcha been doin?

Yeah. Yeah. I know...burn out don't fade away...All I can say about my absence is that you should never threaten to kill yourself with a propane tank when you have yard full of cops....okay? I have to say though, I have been busy knitting things. I'm most excited about my Dragon Dance Socks. So, I pet the skein for a little while, wound it slowly, made and laminated my cheat sheets and then, took a deep breath and ....


It's my first year in the Rockin' Sock Club and I definately am having a love affair with the whole idea of it...

It's a color I would never pick...I hardly ever do lace patterns on socks...


Normally, won't do a short row heel....

Never even heard of a star toe...



All of them together makes me giddy in love with them...



I'd like to give props to the designer, too (bellybuttonknits on Ravelry). The fact that she's out there answering questions about the design itself and technique in general shows real class...btw, if she reads this, I stuck to the pattern (ok I did shallow out the heel a tiny bit but...but...but) because I like to stay true to the pattern the first time to fully experience it as it was intended...then later go and muck with it and make it do my bidding...heh, heh, heh
And then I also made some other stuff...but that's next time :)