CraftyGryphon Knits: Yarn on Thursday: Lookin' at the REALLY small stuff...

Attention, fellow knitters: there's more to the fiber-world than just yarn. (Okay, okay, stop hyperventilating. You can handle this.)

Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of really thin, usually not-wool yarn. It's called "thread". Yeah, like the stuff used for sewing, only (IMHO) better. Since I had a really good excuse (my BFF leaving town for the next really-long-while) to go shopping, I headed to Scarlet Thread in Great Falls, VA. This is something I've been doing for, oh, fifteen years now (since I moved back to the area), following the store through an owner change and two location changes, and making sure all my cross-stitching friends knew about it. Also IMHO, it's the best cross-stitch store in the mid-Atlantic area (and I don't give a broader area because I haven't been there yet). Anyway, I bought stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

This is everything.

This is everything from another angle, mostly so you can see my middle-room floor, which you'll notice is a Greek Key. Like my Theseus & the Minotaur socks. See, Gryphon? I wasn't kidding about liking Greek Keys.

Here's the list of what I got, and, yes, I have NO craft budget left after this for the rest of the year. No, this probably won't stop me from getting anything I actually *need*, but it's going to put an end to the impulse buying until some time in 2010.

Charts:
Easter Parade - Blackbird Designs	Post Stitches: "He Sees You When You're Eating" - Sue Hillis Designs	Seasonal Garden Series: Spring (chart), Summer (kit), Winter (kit) - From Nancy's Needle
Twisted Heart - Ink Circles	April (Book #152) - The Prairie Schooler
Canvas:
Canvas: four 6"x6" black ornament squares; two 5.75"x6.75" green "squares"	Hand-Painted Canvas: Four tiny animal-in-the-snow ones: Grey Cat, Black Cat, Marmalade Cat and Bunny.
Cloth:
1 yd. Zwigart Chashel Linen (28ct) - metallic/opal/yellow dust

Findings:
Mill Hill Beads: 2 - 00330 (copper clear); 2 - 02023 (copper metal); 1 - 122223 (blue crystal stars)	Five stitcher's travel charms (juniper seeds) for gifts (one already given)
Threads:
Carrie's Creations:	3 - Antique Gold	3 - Bay Breeze
	3 - Blueberry Pie	5 - Citrus
	4 - Emerald	4 - Fall Splendor
	2 - Fat Tuesday	2 - Garnet
	2 - Garden Green	3 - Gator Green
	3 - Glory	1 - Halloween
	1 - Harvest Moon	2 - Hearts Afire
	3 - Highland Hills	2 - Holly Days
	2 - Irish Kiss	5 - Jewel of the Nile
	3 - Joy Noel

For hand-dyed cotton floss, my favorites are Carrie's Creations, which I first discovered at Scarlet Thread. I have no idea if anyone else carries them, so I bought everything I could that might be used to stitch pumpkins, peacocks, autumn things or that just called loudly to me.

Caron Collection "Snow"	3 - Fiesta Red	3 - Fire Orange
	3 - Lime Green	3 - Mango
	3 - Canary Yellow	2 - Cedar Green
	6 - Black (shot with royal blue)	2 - Royal Blue
	2 - Sky Blue	3 - White

I hadn't seen the Caron Snow before, either. Love the depth in the colors, and hey: it's SHINY! I'll be using the blues and greens, definitely, on the tiny dragon-defending-a-castle ornament I'm making for my husband for a Christmas surprise. (And no, I don't think he reads this blog. He might, but he's never mentioned it, or the vast amounts of tote-bags and yarn that he would have seen here, thus knowing that they were ~~hidden in the grand piano~~ in the house somewhere.)

Gentle Art - Simply Shaker:	1 - Butternut Squash	3 - Harvest Moon
	6 - Bay Berry
Gentle Art - Sampler Threads:	5 - Bittersweet	6 - Kiwi
	6 - Daffodil	7 - Orange Marmalade
	5 - Huckleberry	3 - Spring Grass
Rainbow Gallery "Fyreworks":	2 - soft sheen copper (FT26)	1 - metallic sheen copper (F9)
	2 - The Lavenders	6 - Black

I hadn't seen the fuzzy chenille before. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to use it on yet, but, given the colors I have, it'll be... fuzzy. Actually, the black would be an excellent background for .... hmmm....

Lookit how rich the colors are!!
Lastly, the Really Good stuff. I got some Gentle Art sampler threads (A, listed above) and a LOT of Thread Gatherer Silk 'n' Colors (B). Silk. Hand dyed. Yeah, this was the EXPENSIVE stuff, and counted for about one-third of a really huge bill. ("C" is the Carrie's Creations so you can see the difference.) Again, I got peacock, pumpkin, autumn and what I think of as "renaissance" colors. I usually can't justify more than a few skeins of this, but it's not easy to find, and I refuse to buy it if I can't see the actual colors and touch it. The internet just doesn't work.

Thread Gatherer "Silk & Chenille":	1 - In the Reds	2 - Peacock
	1 - Pines	2 - Autumn on the Cape
Thread Gatherer "Silk & Colors"	2 - SNC 204 - Amethyst Anaconda	6 - SNC 197 - Brazzaville
	2 - SNC 210 - Elephant & Castle	2 - SNC 117 - Fairy Quilt Cottage
	2 - SNC 081 - Forget-Me-Not	3 - SNC 094 - Grape Melange Lt.
	1 - SNC 102 - Grape Soda	2 - SNC 090 - Green Leaves
	2 - SNC 085 - Holiday Greenery	2 - SNC 074 - In the Burgundy
	3 - SNC 199 - Orange Grove	4 - SNC 093 - Orchid (3 dye lot 1; 1 dye lot 2)
	1 - SNC 212 - Pudding Mill Lane	1 - SNC 191 - Vivacious Violet
	1 - SNC 140 - Vintage Violets

Now, the sad bit: at the end of June, the store is going to close. I got this notice last Friday, which prompted the trip, since the store won't be there when my BFF returns to the area, and I've been dragging her along for about as long as I've been going. I'll tell you a secret: Even though this is a knitting blog, and even though I'm primarily knitting right now... I still self-identify mainly as a cross-stitcher. Not just because I've been doing it longer, even though I have (started when I was three; didn't start crochet until I was six, canvas work until I was seven, and knitting until I was eight or nine)... but because it's what catches my attention the most. "Thread thrall", I think it's called - I can be intrigued by a sweater or blanket, but if you want me to stare at something for hours, put a Teresa Wentzler or a Chatelaine Mandala in front of me. So, the fact that this store, in particular, is closing... is really really heartbreaking.