P0rny P0rny Yarn P0rn!

Warning: This post is kinda wordy. And linky. And imagey. But it's good and pretty.

I got a whole crapload of yarn. Wanna see?

I won't list them all just yet - I have better close-ups. The Socks that Rock that you see here are NOT SPOILERS. These are old colorways. My club skein is carefully tucked away, so if you haven't gotten yours yet, don't fear a spoil here.

The only one I didn't get a closer picture of is my batt there on the right. It looks like two, but it's really one - it's a Henny Penny from Luxe. There's just all KINDS of great junk in there - should be a lot of fun to spin! I'm glad Natasha's out there, doing what she does - she makes the most wonderful art yarns, too, but she's also a scrap-freak like me. (I'm glad there's at least one person who wouldn't have looked at me in horror as I ran around after my Introductory Spinning class, gathering up all the little mohair locks off of the ground.)

And while I look forward to spinning it (and the March installment of The Sweet Sheep's fiber club that just went out yesterday,) I'm going to have to wait. My plying flyer (which is what I'll spin this batt onto) is out of commission. My parents were in town over the weekend, and dad didn't get the front door closed quickly enough on one of their visits - Rooster saw his window and went for it. Dad didn't realize that Rooster, once out the door, always just stops and looks at me like, "See, I can come out here any time I want and you can't stop me. Now pick me up and take me inside." So Dad kinda panicked and tried to catch him, but he slipped and fell on the enormous pile of crap - not literally - we have by the front door. (Travis is staining and refinishing the table, so all the stuff previously housed therein is...everywhere.) He landed on my plying flyer and the tensioning knob snapped. Hey, at least the plyer is fine - and that knob is only $2.50. And better yet, Dad was uninjured. (I may have panicked a little, but he's fine. And The Woolery has a new tensioning knob en route.)

Back to sexy good yarn party (and please, God, let me find "sexy good yarn party" on my Search Engine Keywords list.)


It's just hot, isn't it??


In this picture, left to right, you see: Socks that Rock, Rainforest Jasper (from last year's club); Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel blend in Olive; Socks that Rock Sock Candy (cotton) in Scaponia; Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel again in Dogwood; Lorna's Laces in Aslan. The STR were lucky destash acquisitions - getting STR from destash feels like winning the Boston Marathon. (Okay, it probably feels nothing like that. But it's triumphant nonetheless.)


Okay, left to right here: Claudia Hand Painted, Red Wagon (hee); Apple Laine, Deep Sea; Lorna's Laces, Hawaii; and, just because I thought it was pretty enough to get pointed out a few times, there's that Rainforest Jasper again.

I have (thinks hard) four more....no, five more....batches of sock yarn coming. What?! Someone destashed Mama-E yarn for thirteen dollars!! You want me to pass that up? And I suppose you also want me to take the chance of missing out on The Sweet Sheep's Mystery Dyer this month, and kick myself endlessly if it turns out to be Sweet Georgia?? (Even if it's not, all the indies that Michelle stocks are my favorites, so there's a gonna-love-it guarantee.) I can't help it, I'm a sucker for a surprise. It's why I'm so deeply entrenched in sock clubs and swaps.

Poor Travis. He walked into my knitting room (which I have finally dubbed Zenadu), sighed, and declared, "I guess I better build you another shelf." I applaud him. Even though the TONE of his voice said, "You know you don't have to buy ALL the yarn, right?" he didn't actually SAY it. I think I'll marry him.

I never did share photos of my recent spinning endeavors.

There's the lineup....details follow.


This was Sweet Sheep merino fiber in Cotton Candy; it was February's fiber club shipment. It's also reading much more neon pink than it really is - it's softer-toned pinks than my photos would lead you to believe. I spun it two-ply into about...umm, I don't remember the yardage. I think about 220 yards in this 4 ounce skein. I liked working with this fiber a lot, although my skills in spinning an even worsted-weight yarn are going to need practice.

As are my skills in silk:

This stuff is beautiful, mostly of its own accord. Spinning silk is a real bitch...this was also my first time to try spinning from the fold. Long-draw or worsted spinning will not work with silk. It took me most of Gone with the Wind to get this done, and it's just a single. The fiber is Ozark Handspun silk sliver, and I think (I need to start writing this stuff down) I ended up with about 130 yards in two ounces. When I purchased the sliver, it was a wonderful green with spots of pink. But this stuff bled like a stuck pig, and by the time I'd washed it, soaked it in warm water and vinegar, and washed it again in hopes that I could get the dye to stay in the single, I had mostly green and a bit of tannish brown. I miss the pink - but it's still a beautiful shade.

Oh, and cotton? Well, cotton just sucks.

Fortunately I really love a big fat bulky soft cotton single. Because if I'd wanted to actually spin this, I would have torn all my hair out. I am not adept at short-staple fibers. But this is so soft and fluffy and will make a great ... hat? I don't know what the hell I could do with this. The roving came from a vendor at SAFF; I think I spun up about 80 yards, and this is maybe six ounces. (This was also a Gone with the Wind project.)

Last night, I watched Who Killed the Electric Car? with Travis...I love that this guy who makes his living working on gas-powered vehicles gets just as fired up about our fuel consumption as I do. He loves that I drive a hybrid, and he wants one of those electric cars so badly. Too bad the auto companies keep crushing them. Literally. (I would LOVE a Tango SO MUCH. Aren't they just the most awesome little things?! I know hybrid and electric-car people are seen as being smug. But it's better than being smog.) Anyway, during the movie I was knitting away on my sock and feeling the love from my pets - behold, a portrait of my Thursday night.


I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to. Fortunately, I didn't. (I should have an FO report for you tomorrow.)

Forty Seven.

ETA: Wheeee! New Knitty!!

First up, let me share my elation with you. Tuesdays = happy fun dance party.

Oh yeah. See, I figured out what my problem was - every day when I went up to my PO box, I crossed my fingers in hopes that a little key would be there, beckoning me to a larger lockbox where mysteries of the unknown (or, rather, mostly known) would be found. Never a thing. So yesterday, I DIDN'T cross my fingers. Turns out, crossing your fingers is a jinx! Lookit all this stuff!

(The box on top is from Pick Up Sticks, just a couple of skeins of Apple Laine in a lovely kind of indigo color. The Amazon box is the Sensational Knitted Socks book that we finally agreed on - they refused to send the new Interweave sock book, but they did finally send this one along. I cancelled the rest of the order and ordered the other book from Overstock like she suggested. (Why Amazon is insisting the Interweave book isn't released yet...well, that I can't explain.) The fourth box, the large priority one, that's some destashed stuff (including a skein of Socks that Rock from last year's club); and the smaller Priority box? Well, that's the grail, isn't it? I won't post photos of the yarn, but I'll link you to Adelle's photo of it. (Hope she doesn't mind. Her picture's much better than mine were.)

TWO skeins of Socks that Rock in one day. Le happy sigh.

So yeah, inspired by my new acquisitions, I counted up my sock yarn to see how many pairs I could knit right now. Remember, I've given away or destashed a tremendous amount of sock yarn in the past, oh, six months or so. And I have yarn for FORTY SEVEN pairs of socks. (And I may have just ordered three more pairs worth from The Loopy Ewe in the Monday night free-for-all-brawl that was her massive shop update.) And I have such a pretty stash - multiple skeins of Sweet Georgia, Yarn Pirate, Mama-E, Socks That Rock, Yarntini, Vesper.....if I were to knit all that up, then what would I have to look at? But I should apparently be knitting much faster and buying much slower. I'll give it a shot.

I am still planning - against my better judgment - to participate in Secret Pal 10. I really shouldn't, what with the wedding consuming much of my time and budget, but I just love that swap so much.

Also, I realized when I was uploading photos last night that I'd put up the wrong picture of my socks in progress - this is much better lighting.


Again, the one on your left is the Mata Hari sock in Cherry Tree Hill potluck, and the right is Embossed Leaves in Posh Yarns cashmere/merino blend. And I think I'm gonna need to knit faster. I'm halfway done with the second Mata Hari sock and I've got the cuff done on the Embossed Leaves. I need a personal assistant to knit my second sock in every pair - I could get a lot more done that way.

Good Knitters

You'll see this in no fewer than 30 blogs, probably, but I'll be the 31st, because I'm thrilled with this idea.

I'm a huge fan of All Things Heather yarn (my Travis' favorite, most comfy socks so far were knit in her yarn) and she's doing a wonderful pledge drive to benefit both her daughter's school and, in larger part, its sister school in South Africa. Lord knows any school in South Africa needs all the help we can give them - and just for kicks, Heather's offering up all kinds of generosity to people who donate. (She's crazy.)

Her post is on her blog - if you have a bit of yarn money leftover in the budget (and hey, if you're in the Stashalong, you gotta have a few pennies), can you spare them?

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled knitting.

Grumble, Grumble

I think I'm going to have to give up my Bloglines subscription to the Rockin' Sock Club blog - it seems like there is nothing some people like more than ruining surprises for other people. (Which I realize now is a completely unfair thing to say - I'm quite sure they don't MEAN to spoil anything, it's just words that are typed in a wool-induced haze of excitement.) But yeah, I've read posts that rattle off the name of the colorway, the entire contents of the box (I wasn't IN last year's club and have no idea what to expect; we don't all know what's coming) and REALLY specific details about the pattern. And plenty of people realize their slips and go back and delete the posts or make edits - but Bloglines always shows the original post as-is, so I don't get the benefit of peoples' blessed realizations. Cruddy! (So I guess I'm more anti-bloglines than anti-spoilers....)

Rant over, I promise the rest is positive!

I'm hoping my Socks that Rock shipment arrives today - between waiting for that, the new Knitty issue, and the big ol' Loopy update tonight, I'm just about out of my head with excitement!! (There is absolutely no chance I will find the time to start another pair of socks - I have to start my wedding knitting, for real! But that doesn't make the waiting any easier!)

This is also too exciting - Heather finished the wedding invites and they are BEAUTIFUL. Check them out here - aren't they gorgeous?? And now the plug - if you have any stationery needs, and especially if you want something unique and custom, get in touch with her - she's been completely fantastic.

Speaking of completely fantastic - I'm still not over my glorious jewelry and how fabulous Emily is for desiging beautiful stuff that fell not only within my budget, but far below it! (The only wedding vendor thus far with that distinction.) She has made an extremely (and I mean extremely) generous offer to me and any of my friends. So if you see anything in her shop that you like and can't live without (I'll be surprised if you don't find something to your liking, but you can also request custom items), email me first!! She gave me a coupon code for a hella discount, but I don't want to just post it here for the entire world. But please know that if you're reading this, you're my friend and you should email me because I wanna save you money. (I'm not a used car salesman, but I play one on tv.) And she's a super person and deserves loads of business.

Happy knitting! (Or spending, if that's your bent!)

More Finished Stuff

I got my second skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky yesterday, so last night when I finished the Halley's Comet hat (more on that in a second), I cast on for that triple-cuff Zhivago-inspired hat.

Okay, the way I have it folded here, it's kind of a cuff-and-a-half hat. But it's fluffy and soft and warm, and I love it!


Project Stats:

Pattern: Triple Cuff Hat, Winter '06/'07 Vogue
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky (50% wool; 50% alpaca)
Needles: Size 15 Addi bamboo 16" circular; size 15 Brittany birch DPNs
Start Date: March 3, 2007
Finish Date: March 4, 2007


I cast on fewer stitches than called for, and adjusted the length a bit to account for a different gauge. I'm very happy with the final result.


Oh, about that Halley's Comet hat. Yeah, umm....so silk can stretch out like crazy when you wet it. (You knew that, I knew that, and yet....) Now it's not so much a hat as a really soft bucket on top of my head. Any ideas for what I can do to shrink it back up? All I've got in mind is to throw it in the dryer and cross my fingers.


Here's the two socks I've completed; I'm working on the match for the purple sock right now. The one on your left is the Embossed Leaves sock from Winter 2005 Interweave, knit from Posh Yarns in the Scuffle colorway (which I got from The Loopy Ewe - none available now, I'll link when it's back). The one on the right is the Mata Hari sock from Craftoholic, knit from Cherry Tree Hill in one of their potluck colorways (which turned my needles purple - it's okay, makes them distinctive.) It's my first time knitting with both these yarns, and I'm a big fan of both now. I'm knitting both on size 1 needles, of course.

Go knit!! (And if you have any tips about that silk hat, please pass them on to me!)