I'm way behind in posting, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy with therapeutic stash enhancement! Just stroking a new skein of yarn puts me in a happier frame of mind. What about you?
First there was the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. Came away with some great bargains:
This is a lovely shawl pin. I had chosen a different one, but before I even left the building, it began to bend where the pin is soldered onto the decorative top. So I returned it and exchanged it. It works really well for large or heavy shawls, but wouldn't want to use it on a fine lace-weight shawl.
This is a gorgeous lilac/iris color. It's called Iris. It's Jaggerspun Zephyr lace weight yarn, in a long skein of 1160 yards. I love that...it means I can make a large lace shawl without having to start a new skein and work in ends in the middle of it. It's so soft...I frequently give it a stroke just to feel how soft it is!
Here's a kit I picked up with "beaded rayon yarn" that's bumpy, not actually beaded. It's peacock-colored...blue, green, and purple. Lovely. Came with beads to make a beaded scarf. It also includes the pattern. But I'm thinking of making the "Denim Bag" from Knitting With Beads instead, since I have one scarf and another one to make (see below) and I'm not much of a scarf person.
Next came a visit to the Patternworks Tent Sale with my sister and two lovely ladies from her knitting group. I picked up quite a few bargains. This Filatura di Crosa "Multicolor" mohair yarn will make a gorgeous shawl, I'm sure.
This interesting button will probably go on a chunky car-length sweater I'm going to make. Someday. In the meantime, it can reside in my glass button jar and stare out at me and try to send me ESP messages saying: "Use me!"
This is a kit to make an Alexandria Tote Bag. The pattern is from Patternworks, as is the yarn...Meredith Bay, Bretton, and Sunapee, all named for New Hampshire locations. There are three color choices for the bag; I chose the "pastel" option. Should be fun.
Picked up a couple of books: "Reversible Knits" by Iris Schreier, and "Knitting on the Edge" by Nicky Epstein. Both of them look like fun and I can definitely see myself maybe never knitting an "ordinary" ribbing band on a sweater again, thanks to Nicky's gorgeous edging patterns!
Picked this up for my daughter's birthday. She knits and crochets, but so far feels more confident with crochet. (Though she's working on two lovely knitted shrugs and doing a fabulous job.) She also loves purses, so I think she'll have fun with this.
Next, went to Webs (yarn.com) with my daughter on her vacation. Spent three hours there! And because of what I'd already bought in the preceding month, I was (barely) able to limit myself to this gorgeous "Silk Cloud" yarn and complimentary Cotton Bam Boo yarn to make the Lace Scarf in the recent issue of Interweave Knits. I can't believe I walked out of Webs with just these two, but if it could only be two, these were perfect.
Last stop in the month-long yarn extravaganza was The Knitting Knook in Keene, New Hampshire, with my two daughters. I really had no budget left, so just came away with this lovely sock yarn. The color changes are muted and subtle, so I think it will work well for one of the patterns in Cookie A's "Sock Innovation" book. Can't wait to try one!And my gosh, that's taken me half an hour to post, so I think I'll quit now. Next time I'll post about the Mermaid Shawl that's blocking on the bed even as I type...
