July finishes (so far).

I have got to get better about updating... but hey, at least I've been knitting!! July has been a good month for finishing things started long ago!! My 2011 Advent Calendar Scarf. I only did days 1-12, as that gave me a shawl at the size I was knitting! My Tee for Two. Changed it up so it has short sleeves instead of cap sleeves. A store model for some yarn arriving next month. (From which I will be making something else for myself.) And a ridiculously cute photo of a long-finished kerchief, which, as it turns out, it just the right size to be a shawl for a 15-month-old.

Fall of Leaves

So, I do still actually finish things. I started this in May, put it down, and then finished it in about a week at the end of June. I absolutely love the way it came out!
Yarn: Done Roving Transitions, and about 1/3 ball of Shalimar Breathless
Needles: size 8 Signatures (which is why I needed the extra yarn, it's MUCH larger than the pattern expects it to be!)
Pattern: Fall of Leaves by The Knitting Vortex (available on Ravelry, free, here).



Blocked this sucker out pretty harshly to get the size I wanted (butt coverage is key):

Before

After

I think this is the best shot I have of the colors:


It was a fun knit; pretty challenging until I got the hang of it, and I love the result!

And now, the yarn...

Here's a bunch of photos of all the yarn I got, with the exception of some HPKY from Nature's Yarns and some blue/green fuzzy stuff from Uniquities, both which will shortly appear in projects. Because now that I have all this yarn, I really need to use it!!





















Photo explanations:

Top - Day One haul, 6 stores visited. Owl shawl pin, safety eyes, magazine, calendar, pen and crochet thread from Yarn Cloud. Elvgren buttons from Looped. Patterns & cloth from In Stitches. Needles & cute pins from Second Story Knits. Stitch markers from Wool Winders.

Photos 2-7, yarn obtained from: Aylin's; Aylin's; Looped; Fibre Space; Uniquities; Uniquities; Nature's Yarns

#8 - already showed you this one, the haul from Second Story Knits

Bottom - the aftermath of getting all this yarn wound.

That's it for this year's Metro Yarn Crawl. If you're local, you really need to do it next year, it's lots of fun!

Uniquities & Aylin's Woolgatherer

I have NO idea why I keep forgetting to get pics of Uniquities (http://uniquitiesyarnshop.com/) when I'm there. I was there THREE TIMES during the crawl, and I bought stuff each time, and my only defense is "yarn fumes". Anyway, they're located in Vienna on Church Street, and worth a visit. There's also a Yarn Retreat on Solomon's Island in late October, signups open now...

I did remember to snap pics at Aylin's Woolgatherer (http://aylins-wool.com/) in Falls Church. Extra bonus: Mom won the door prize!



So, of the 12 yarn stores participating in the Metro Yarn Crawl, I managed to get to nine of them!

(Oh look, all the shop addresses and times for future reference...!)

Nature's Yarns

Stop #7 was Nature's Yarns. Y'all should stop by sometime, it's open knit/crochet/stitch/tat/whatever whenever the shop is open.



I think I can safely say I get most of my yarn here....

In Stitches

In Stitches does have yarn... but it also has canvas, and a LOT of cross stitch. This is the place I hit each year after my annual trip to see the Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit (March 1-31 each year - they tried it in May one time, and everyone got confused, so it's back to March). I got some patterns and cloth this trip, no knitting stuff. But it's worth a visit if you do any of the three crafts!

Yarn Cloud!

Stop #5 was Yarn Cloud in Old Town Occoquan (http://www.yarncloud.com/). This store used to be in Woodbridge; it has moved!! If you move fast, you may still be able to get your paws on the 2015 Men in Knits calendar, they have a few left...!



I realize I'm not really going into detail about the shops; this is mostly so I remember where I went, and so you can see the insides. They're *all* lovely, and I hope to visit them all again!

Fibre Space!

Stop #4 was Fibre Space, in its "new" King Street location. (It's been there for a while, but it used to be up around the corner on Lafayette.) I got some Fiberists yarn here (there's a lot of yarn involved. There will be a post at the end of the crawl so you can see all the yarn. Yes, I remembered to take photos of the tags so you can actually see what it all is!)

Anyway, Fibre Space:



I need to add that there is now a candy store across King Street. You should check it out, too!

Stop #3: Looped Yarn Works

The third Metro Yarn Crawl stop turned out to be Looped Yarn Works (http://loopedyarnworks.com/) just north of Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. I always find interesting stuff here. This time, it was some color-changing Abracadabra yarn and some cute Elvgren buttons.