Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2014

Okay, the MD Sheep and Wool festival happened! As usual, I took the Nature's Yarns bus up with mom, but this year, I had one thought firmly in mind:


So, I got through the day WITHOUT incurring further debt. Which meant (for a change) that everything fit in one small bag:


The Fiber Optic Yarns gradient (the big score, as they were getting low on stock by the time I got there - and if you click through to the website, it's ALL out of stock!) can be seen here. The Ribbon Yarn is from Tess' Designer Yarns. There's an album from Maggie Sansone that I didn't already own (much to my shock). I got a festival t-shirt and pin. I got a Footlights combo pack from Blue Ridge Yarns in Dragon's Breath (which is the colorway of my Clapotis).

I got Angora from Oasis Farm Fiber Mill - incredibly soft!


I got a kit from the Tsarina of Tsocks. (I really need to finish the kit from last year....)


The Vintage Rose Knitting Botique had the *coolest* little stitch marker sets. I got "Expecto Patronem", which has things that reference Harry Potter (including a little silver snake charm, which the darned Gryffie Lion is blocking in this photo).


I got a set of 40" size 8 (US) Signature needles (oh hai, 5% off everything sale online through this Sunday). I get one set each year; so far, size 4, 6, and 8, 10 next year, then 2...). I'm using the needles currently on the Fiber Optics shawl. In addition to a lovely tightening pad (free with purchase!), this little gem was included in the packet:


And of course, I got the new Sheep Incognito calendar.




There were also the mandatory lamb kebabs, ribbon fries smothered with everything, and dipped ice cream cones. Which was followed by the mandatory nap for the length of the bus ride home!

Have You Seen These Needles?

So, on the way south on Sunday, I wandered into a Michael's to get some yarn needles with eyes big enough to deal with Hometown USA super-bulky yarn. While I did, in fact, get yarn needles, I also found these:


Boye is now doing premium "rosewood" needles. They're not showing up on the site yet...; hopefully that will get fixed. I mean, if I'm the only one who ever sees these? Maybe they're a Michael's Exclusive. I bet they're not, though - in which case HELLO, BOYE MARKETING DEPARTMENT, WAKE UP!! Maybe they're already phased out - Boye's facebook page doesn't even mention them, and this is a premium-level product for them. Anyone heard of them? No? Well, I'm not surprised - for a little bit more, you can get Lantern Moon needles, which are easier to work with (IMHO), and I actually had trouble using the crochet hook. I'm wondering where the design breakdown is? (Granted, I was using cotton - but that's my usual test for wooden needles. Rather like jelly yarn is the test for metal needles.) If you've seen these anywhere - or tried them - let me know!!

Anyway, back to why I needed the yarn needles in the first place: I made a baby Giant Flying Happy Bunny.




It's much smaller than the original Giant Flying Happy Bunny, but it's still cute.

Yarn on Thursday: When Good Needles Go Bad

ARGH. Today's Yarn on Thursday: Stitch Edition is gonna be pushed back a week, due to Mental Trauma caused by one end of my 32", 4.5mm/7 circular needle SNAPPING OFF on the train last night.


See "A"? That rolled down the train car, leaving "B" to quickly pull itself out of 100+ stitches of my Rogue Hoodie. (I'm sure the other passengers thought I'd been shot, or something, the way I was reacting - luckily, my husband calmed me down and promised to Fix Things. Which he did by taking me to Fibre Space, planting me in front of Veronica, and not giving me grief about a new Hiya-Hiya 32" 4.5mm/7 circular needle, despite the current Lenten No Craft Stuff ban. He understands, it's an emergency.)

We'll go back to your regularly scheduled Giant Pattern Swatch Project next Thursday.

Not-Quite-Addis...

Well, if something sells, there will be imitators. Addi Turbos just rock, as needles go; I'm seriously considering getting a size 4 of the Addi Lace circs to finish up the Forget-Me-Not Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski. On the other hand, A.C. Moore is now stocking these:


Has anyone tried them? They're clearly trying to go after the Addi market (I mean really. Why else name them "Velocity"?). I didn't see a size 4 pair, which is what I need. Oh, darn, may have to give in and get the Addis anyway.

Which brings us to why I need them:

Couch Project	Commuting Project	Waiting Project
Peacock Scarf. (beads involved)	Forget-Me-Not Shawl (if on circs only)	Ninja Armwarmers
Titania Cardigan	Tiger Eyes Shawl	Koigu Scarf
Argyle Hearts Sweater	FTSC-1-III Socks

You see, I'm on the Forget-Me-Not shawl, but it's a commuting project ONLY if it's on circular needles. Right now, it's on size 4 straight needles - and you don't want to know how far down a train car those can roll. Plus, they're tiny. They get caught in the worst places. (Remind me to tell you sometime about my "suspicious behavior", the two Metro policemen, the Metro police dog and my grandmother's just-out-of-reach knitting needle.)

My carry-around waiting project for right now is my Ninja Armwarmers, because (a) it doesn't get any more mindless than "Knit in a tiny circle. A lot. Knit a tinier circle. Join. Knit more in a cirle. Knit another tiny circle. Join. Knit around and around until you have enough knitting to cover your entire arm."


The Evidence
Armwarmers, left, in black; Shawl, right, in HOT pink
It was supposed to be my Fairy Tale Sock Club #1 third socks - but I lost them in the house again! Arrrgh! And Fairy Tale Sock Club #2 is about to start! I managed to find them last night, and get them all together, so when I get bored of millions of circles of black (give it two more days, I think), I'll go back to the socks.

Busy Weekend.

Busy weekend, with a lot accomplished, some of it actually yarn-related.

Friday night, wound up the last ball of Gaia Lace, colorway The Gorge. I got four for SotS-II, and the third ball is rapidly dwindling. On the other hand, I will probably have enough left over for a pretty SotS-II headscarf!


On Saturday, on the way to play with friends in the morning, we were running about forty-five minutes early, and since traffic on the Interstate was, per the Radio Traffic Guy, "horrible", I finagled a stop at In Stitches near Woodlawn Plantation (hey, it's on Route 1, we were going down Route 1...). They're the LNS locally that *always* has Noro yarns, and Friday, I was seduced by the Yarn Harlot's post about The Noro Scarf. That's Brooklyn Tweed's Noro Scarf, and after you click on the link and drool a bit at the loveliness of said scarf. I don't want a six-foot scarf, actually - so I just got two balls of yarn.


I'm going to cheat a Mobius strip scarf, without actually making a Mobius scarf. I'm going to... GRAFT. Yes, you said it. But why would I do such a thing, when I've successfully Mobius-ed before? Because I also got THESE:


Yes, I finally broke down and got my own pair of Lantern Moon needles, which I've wanted for a while. Darned store had them RIGHT as you go in, a whole rack, and these pretties were in the size called for by the yarn. I must obey the yarn, right?

Also, during the various events on Saturday, and most of Sunday afternoon/evening, I was doing things, socializing, and catching up on my Thirty Rabbits in Thirty Days. I cast on #15 this morning, so I'm only a little bit behind, and should be caught up by the end of "How I Met Your Mother" tonight. No, I haven't actually made any into rabbits just yet, but I have faith it will work.


And then, on the way into work this morning, I walked past the Gap, and they had this in the window:


I'll be investigating THAT at lunch, because as Argyle goes, pink-and-orange really IS me. (And that way I'll have an Argyle sweater to wear this year, because we all know I'm not finishing the other one any time soon!)

Tiny Circular Needles = Fun!!

Wonderful fun this weekend. My boss got married (great ceremony, fun reception!), I hit the cross-stitch sale at Scarlet Thread and the (still ongoing!) yarn sale at Uniquities, and my Dad showed up for a surprise visit!! Yay!!

Friday, I got a shot of a sock (I think it's Hilda) with George:



OKAY, ONCE AGAIN, STOP READING. REALLY.
FAIRY TALE SOCK CLUB SPOILERS MAY APPEAR PAST THIS POINT!









Okay, so I managed to finish the entire Beautiful Sock, the right sock (oh yes, my pretties, there *is* a difference!), and just have the leg of the second sock, Hilda, to do.

I was bad, and did my own short-row heel, rather than the one in the instructions, just to see if it worked. It did, perfectly! Look at that pretty little mitered bit! Yay, heel!

Then, further and further up the leg. (I went about, oh, five pattern repeats beyond the Actual Pattern, since I had a bunch of yarn left over. I would *not* recommend people do that, since, as previously stated, normal people knit much more tightly than I do, so will have used much more yarn at this point than I did.)

Then, finally, the right sock was finished! What seriously helped me fly on this sock was the purchase, at the Uniquities sale, of twelve-inch size 1 Addi Turbos! Little tiny circular needles, whee! Even though I've gotten pretty good at DPNs, the combination of "circular" and "Addi Turbos" is a LOT faster for me. The store only had one pair available; I'll be asking Jess at Stitch DC to order me three more. (Yes, I'm a needle hog.) I may actually finish the second sock today or tomorrow, depending on how busy work is (right now, it isn't!!), and then I can start all the decoration, which, being *embroidery and crochet* mostly, will just fly! (I'm probably going to cheat on the decorations by having my mother put on the socks with a bit of extra toe-padding, and just embroidering them while theyr'e on her feet, so things more-or-less strech out properly. Getting her to sit still while I do it? THAT will be the challenge!!

Shopping for Stash

So, Saturday afternoon, after beating my head against a wall for seven hours straight over doing my taxes (which isn't just mine: it's mine, my husband's, and his corporation, we don't get ANY shortcuts, and there's a ton of extra schedules I have to figure out, so it's *not* as easy as people try to tell me it is, it's just not!), I decided that I deserved a field trip to Aylin's Woolgatherer. I needed an extra set of size 1 DPNs; my husband told me to get two sets. This, I did. I also managed to get a lovely 14" set of size six wooden needles, two sets (one large, one small like I already have) of lovely little Almost Amy (go look at her stuff, it's fun!) stitch markers, four balls of Feza "Fanatic", thick-yet-lightweight wool-blend braid, to make the shrug for my sister's wedding, and a truly adorable little hand-painted enamel "I love Ewe" sheep pin by Gita Maria (go look at her stuff, it's cool!). Please note that the sheep in question is mostly orange, thus I had to buy it.

See? ORANGE sheep. I had to get it.

I should also add that my plan to "finish my taxes, then start working on cleaning up the Stash Room" didn't materialize. The taxes are done and filed, the Stash Room isn't gonna get touched for a bit longer. But at least I know the next sweater/shrug I'm knitting once I finish something (anything!! The wedding is in JUNE!!)... I just have to pick a pattern. Yay for Ravelry!

Sometimes, I have no willpower.

Stash, stash and more stash.

Last Friday, I accidentally bought two balls of shiny copper-colored stuff, planning to make a Travelling Rose Scarf from it.

[Remember, this was followed by Saturday's excursion that resulted in more balls of Paton's Rumor (now completely turned into an Amanda Hat, Scarf, Neckwarmer and Ear-Warmer) and the first ball of Paton's Lacette for the Travelling Rose Scarf.]

Thursday night, I accidentally bought a ball of Karabella Aurora 8 that matches my new winter jacket.

Friday night, giving up on any hope of getting past Stitch DC without more stuff, and since everything in the store is 20% off, I got: A second ball of Karabella Aurora 8 (I'm making another few Amanda things, eventually), the last ball of shiny-copper colored stuff (I'd missed it the Friday before), the last two Lorna's Laces "Country Christmas" skeins, and a set of size 2 Addi Lace circs for Secret of the Stole II.


Saturday morning, A.C. Moore had 25% off everything that wasn't on sale, so I got four pound-bags of Orange Cotton and four pound-bags of "unknown content" green boucle that looked exactly like Bernat Baby Boucle. I've already got the sweaters picked out for each, but I've not started either, since I'm not getting the yarn until my birthday. Then, off to Michael's, to get two more balls of Lacette for the Travelling Rose Scarf, since I seem to get just over 3 panels from one ball... and I need 13 panels (supposedly). I think it'll be plenty long enough at 8 or 9!

Saturday afternoon, since we were very, very close, my husband let me stop in at Aylin's Woolgatherer, and I found this:

It's eyebleed neon yellow, the exact color of the winter hat my husband wears. It's gonna be a very fluffy eyebleed hat, I think. (I'm super amused, because when I put it on the counter, one of the girls called to another: "I WIN!!" I can only guess that there'd been a bet as to whether or not that the two balls of eyebleed neon fluff would actually ever sell, even at the bargain price of a buck a ball.)


Lots and lots of yarny loot!! And this doesn't cover the pattern books I got, either. More on that tomorrow!